I'm a Senior In Psychology, And I Can't Figure Out What I Want To Do
March 28, 2016 3:57 PM Subscribe
I’m a psychology major, a senior, and I have two semesters left before I graduate.
I really don’t know what I want to do. And I feel scared and paralyzed because of it. I want to go to graduate school, because I enjoy studying psychology, and I am afraid that with just a bachelor’s degree I won’t be able to find a good job, but in order to chose a grad school, I feel like I need to have an idea of what career I want to achieve with grad school.
I have really liked college because I enjoy learning about a variety of subjects. My favorite psychology classes so far have been personality psychology, cultural psychology, developmental psychology, and I really enjoyed the motivation portion of IO psychology (though not much else). I’m really looking forward to taking social psychology next semester.
One of the common thread between all of these classes besides them being psychology, is that they don’t really lend themselves to a definite career. I can’t just be a personality psychologist or a social psychologist, for example. I can teach psychology as a professor, but from what I can hear, the chances of becoming a professor are slim because it is extremely competitive with very little job openings. I would prefer to go for something that is more in demand… I don’t want to line myself up for unemployment after all the hard work and debt I have ahead of me.
The other common thread I can think of is working in research, but while I don’t mind math and computers, I can’t picture myself working in a lab my whole life pouring over data, only occasionally talking with subjects. I have been a research assistant for a semester, and that was mainly what I remember of it. I remember being bored.
And I don’t see myself becoming a therapist or Psychologist. I feel like it would bum me out to hear about depression and other mental illnesses for decades on end. I am a pretty compassionate person, and some of my friends come to me to vent, but I feel like I would get worn out after a while.
As for IO Psychology, I’m considering it, though I am not a very business minded person. I really have no clue if I would like it or not. I'm taking the class right now, and some things are intriguing like Organizational Psychology, but other parts, like HR make my eyes glaze.
That basically encompasses all areas of psychology I can think of, which is why I am lost and freaking out right now.
Do you guys have any advice? And are there any other areas that I am not considering?
I have really liked college because I enjoy learning about a variety of subjects. My favorite psychology classes so far have been personality psychology, cultural psychology, developmental psychology, and I really enjoyed the motivation portion of IO psychology (though not much else). I’m really looking forward to taking social psychology next semester.
One of the common thread between all of these classes besides them being psychology, is that they don’t really lend themselves to a definite career. I can’t just be a personality psychologist or a social psychologist, for example. I can teach psychology as a professor, but from what I can hear, the chances of becoming a professor are slim because it is extremely competitive with very little job openings. I would prefer to go for something that is more in demand… I don’t want to line myself up for unemployment after all the hard work and debt I have ahead of me.
The other common thread I can think of is working in research, but while I don’t mind math and computers, I can’t picture myself working in a lab my whole life pouring over data, only occasionally talking with subjects. I have been a research assistant for a semester, and that was mainly what I remember of it. I remember being bored.
And I don’t see myself becoming a therapist or Psychologist. I feel like it would bum me out to hear about depression and other mental illnesses for decades on end. I am a pretty compassionate person, and some of my friends come to me to vent, but I feel like I would get worn out after a while.
As for IO Psychology, I’m considering it, though I am not a very business minded person. I really have no clue if I would like it or not. I'm taking the class right now, and some things are intriguing like Organizational Psychology, but other parts, like HR make my eyes glaze.
That basically encompasses all areas of psychology I can think of, which is why I am lost and freaking out right now.
Do you guys have any advice? And are there any other areas that I am not considering?
You might read a little about Human Factors (used to be called Ergonomics but that's sort of a different thing now) just as one interesting modern branch of psychology, but also somewhere (your department will have a copy, probably also the library, or order your own) there is a listing of every psychology grad program in the US.
Read it. The whole thing. Make a note of and go read more about anything that looks intriguing.
See also the APA's career center, which features several different career guides. This is the professional organization that will affect multiple aspects of your graduate study and career if you go this route, so get cozy.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:18 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Read it. The whole thing. Make a note of and go read more about anything that looks intriguing.
See also the APA's career center, which features several different career guides. This is the professional organization that will affect multiple aspects of your graduate study and career if you go this route, so get cozy.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:18 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
You'll be able to get into better grad schools, and get more out of your grad school experience, if you get some real world work experience first. (I'd say this to anyone who was like "um, idk, I guess grad school?")
My friend is in grad school right now, getting her MSW in preparation for counseling work. She first worked an entry level position at a residential psychiatric facility, and then got a job as a county case worker. (Neither job required an advanced degree.) That experience was very valuable in figuring out what she really wanted to do long-term.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:30 PM on March 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
My friend is in grad school right now, getting her MSW in preparation for counseling work. She first worked an entry level position at a residential psychiatric facility, and then got a job as a county case worker. (Neither job required an advanced degree.) That experience was very valuable in figuring out what she really wanted to do long-term.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:30 PM on March 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
I work for a big tech company that hires social psychologists into their User Experience Research org. You don't necessarily sit in a lab all day and crunch numbers*; instead, you go out into the field and interview people who use the products the company builds (or target audiences for future products) and understand their behaviors, needs, day-to-day lives, economic status, technology comfort, etc to understand how to build products and experiences that fit their lives. It helps to have some coursework related to software development but not necessary if you're really good at extrapolating insights from your interviews.
Maybe dig into that? You can start by doing a google search for "user research" and narrowing down to sites that focus on career paths. You should also look into SPSP which is a professional org for personality and social psychology - my company does a LOT of hiring at their annual conference.
Memail me if you have questions!
* that said, there are quantitative user researchers who do crunch numbers, typically from surveys. You can choose to specialize in quant research if you want, but personally I prefer the qual side because I like talking to people and understanding how their environment (home, office, etc) influences their use of technology.
posted by joan_holloway at 5:19 PM on March 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
Maybe dig into that? You can start by doing a google search for "user research" and narrowing down to sites that focus on career paths. You should also look into SPSP which is a professional org for personality and social psychology - my company does a LOT of hiring at their annual conference.
Memail me if you have questions!
* that said, there are quantitative user researchers who do crunch numbers, typically from surveys. You can choose to specialize in quant research if you want, but personally I prefer the qual side because I like talking to people and understanding how their environment (home, office, etc) influences their use of technology.
posted by joan_holloway at 5:19 PM on March 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
If you do think that you would want to go to graduate school, but need a little more exposure, there are a couple of traditional routes to that. One would be to go into a master's program that's focused on general experimental psychology. They give you more experience in the broad application of research, making you more competitive for grad schools, but also give you time to talk to others in the field. Most regional and larger conferences will have sessions on the different types of jobs in the field that people can have.
The second would be to look around (often this time of year, for fall) and see if anyone in a major lab is hiring for a coordinator. Those are usually for recent graduates who stay for a year or two in that position before moving on. It can put you in contact with people in the field for experience and feedback.
You can also be a social psychologist or a developmental psychologist, etc. and not do traditional research in the way you are thinking about it. Especially if you're okay with living somewhere like Washington D.C., you can work on public policy data analysis, which can be very fulfilling and pays decently.
posted by bizzyb at 5:21 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The second would be to look around (often this time of year, for fall) and see if anyone in a major lab is hiring for a coordinator. Those are usually for recent graduates who stay for a year or two in that position before moving on. It can put you in contact with people in the field for experience and feedback.
You can also be a social psychologist or a developmental psychologist, etc. and not do traditional research in the way you are thinking about it. Especially if you're okay with living somewhere like Washington D.C., you can work on public policy data analysis, which can be very fulfilling and pays decently.
posted by bizzyb at 5:21 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
There are some limited positions for BA level psychologists. Mostly, they have "tech" as part of the name, but it's a chance to see what different aspects of the field are like. Someplace like the VA would be a good choice; while the morale is pretty sucky at most VA facilities nowadays, there are lots of opportunities to see, and try, different subspecialties to find what appeals. These would all be direct service types of role.
A different avenue, if you prefer to keep people's dramas at arm's length without being stuck in the back room, would be either a company or a consulting firm as an HR specialist - administering some tests, conducting market research sessions, designing and interpreting attitude surveys, and/or delivering corporate training.
Feel free to memail me if you have further questions.
posted by DrGail at 5:27 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
A different avenue, if you prefer to keep people's dramas at arm's length without being stuck in the back room, would be either a company or a consulting firm as an HR specialist - administering some tests, conducting market research sessions, designing and interpreting attitude surveys, and/or delivering corporate training.
Feel free to memail me if you have further questions.
posted by DrGail at 5:27 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
What jobs have you had while in school and during summers? What did you like/dislike about them? Get a full time job in whatever sort of office you can. Work there for a couple years and then look for the next job that maximizes the things that you liked and minimizes the ones that you didn't.
posted by MsMolly at 5:28 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by MsMolly at 5:28 PM on March 28, 2016
How is your writing? You could segue into journalism.
Or you could spend a little time and money for some vocational testing that might suggest things that you would be good at that you have not considered. The Johnson O'Connor Institute was pretty successful with a couple members of my family.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:29 PM on March 28, 2016
Or you could spend a little time and money for some vocational testing that might suggest things that you would be good at that you have not considered. The Johnson O'Connor Institute was pretty successful with a couple members of my family.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:29 PM on March 28, 2016
You have two semesters left. Why not seek out internships or temp work? When I was wrapping up college I felt very uncertain about what to do afterwards. I did some temp work one summer which let me work at a couple of different companies and I got to see that I could be good at things outside of school. I also did an unpaid internship at an non-profit I was interested in that later led to a job.
(Being a therapist doesn't necessarily mean all of your clients will have depression or serious mental illnesses. I see a therapist and I'm not currently depressed, I just like being able to talk things through.)
posted by bunderful at 5:36 PM on March 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
(Being a therapist doesn't necessarily mean all of your clients will have depression or serious mental illnesses. I see a therapist and I'm not currently depressed, I just like being able to talk things through.)
posted by bunderful at 5:36 PM on March 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you guys for all of your insights. I only had time to quickly glance at them for right now, because I'm over my head with homework, but once I get a chance to breathe, I'll look at them more in depth.
posted by ggp88 at 5:52 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by ggp88 at 5:52 PM on March 28, 2016
University of Utah, last time I looked, offers PhD in Psychology, that layers on top of a bachelors degree.
posted by Oyéah at 8:57 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by Oyéah at 8:57 PM on March 28, 2016
Have you gone to your campus and department career centers?
posted by k8t at 9:10 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by k8t at 9:10 PM on March 28, 2016
Best answer: Work full-time for at least two years before going to grad school. I give this advice to every college student I talk to. I have three reasons for it.
First, because as you very articulately describe, college is not a good position from which to decide what kind of career you want for the rest of your life. It doesn't teach you anything about what different kinds of jobs are like, much less what career paths are open to people with different credentials. College is also pretty bad at teaching you what kind of person you are, what you're going to enjoy doing all day and what is going to drive you crazy. You literally need to "find yourself," and the way to do that is to go out into the world and see where you are and what you're like in it.
Second, because people who have real world work experience make better grad students than people who have none. You'll be a better candidate for grad school if you've actually worked, because you'll be able to talk in your application about things you've done that are more interesting than the classes you took in undergrad. But also, you will likely also be better at your classes. Grad school is not like undergrad except more specialized. It requires you to be self-directed and assertive and able to navigate complex systems. You learn to do those things in the working world much better and faster than you'll ever learn them from within the ivory tower.
Finally, for a college grad who is nerdy and academic and probably eventually grad-school bound, the years between about 22 and 25 can be magical, wandering years that you may never have the chance to have again. Years where you and all of your friends live in crappy apartments and drink cheap wine and backpack through Europe staying at hostels and stay up all night and complain about your Devil Wears Prada-style menial jobs and date weird people and write poetry and sing karaoke and experiment with drugs and just generally be young people in the world. These are the years to be terrified about your future and take risks, and to wander and get lost and then figure things out. And maybe you will hate that struggle. But when you are middle aged and have a mortgage or kids or a long-term employment contract, and when you get three weeks of paid vacation a year, and when your job is genuinely stressful because there are other people who count on you to be responsible, even if you hated those years at the time, you will look back at them as a sort of limenal phase that shaped who you are today. And that's important.
Grad school will always be there for you if you want it to be. Being 22 will not always be there for you. Don't waste it in a classroom, especially if you're not 100% certain what your endgame is.
posted by decathecting at 9:11 PM on March 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
First, because as you very articulately describe, college is not a good position from which to decide what kind of career you want for the rest of your life. It doesn't teach you anything about what different kinds of jobs are like, much less what career paths are open to people with different credentials. College is also pretty bad at teaching you what kind of person you are, what you're going to enjoy doing all day and what is going to drive you crazy. You literally need to "find yourself," and the way to do that is to go out into the world and see where you are and what you're like in it.
Second, because people who have real world work experience make better grad students than people who have none. You'll be a better candidate for grad school if you've actually worked, because you'll be able to talk in your application about things you've done that are more interesting than the classes you took in undergrad. But also, you will likely also be better at your classes. Grad school is not like undergrad except more specialized. It requires you to be self-directed and assertive and able to navigate complex systems. You learn to do those things in the working world much better and faster than you'll ever learn them from within the ivory tower.
Finally, for a college grad who is nerdy and academic and probably eventually grad-school bound, the years between about 22 and 25 can be magical, wandering years that you may never have the chance to have again. Years where you and all of your friends live in crappy apartments and drink cheap wine and backpack through Europe staying at hostels and stay up all night and complain about your Devil Wears Prada-style menial jobs and date weird people and write poetry and sing karaoke and experiment with drugs and just generally be young people in the world. These are the years to be terrified about your future and take risks, and to wander and get lost and then figure things out. And maybe you will hate that struggle. But when you are middle aged and have a mortgage or kids or a long-term employment contract, and when you get three weeks of paid vacation a year, and when your job is genuinely stressful because there are other people who count on you to be responsible, even if you hated those years at the time, you will look back at them as a sort of limenal phase that shaped who you are today. And that's important.
Grad school will always be there for you if you want it to be. Being 22 will not always be there for you. Don't waste it in a classroom, especially if you're not 100% certain what your endgame is.
posted by decathecting at 9:11 PM on March 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
Best answer: If you can make it work, I think decathecting has a lot of excellent points about why taking a few years to work first is a good idea; I say this as someone who went directly into grad school after graduating as a psych major. However, if you're looking for specific grad school fields that might be a good fit, I would encourage you to consider instructional design. I ended up in grad school for it thanks to close connections between our psychology department's behavioral analysis professor and the ID program at the same university; it worked for me because it was a good way of applying some of what I'd learned as an undergrad in a business setting without ending up in HR or having to be traditionally "business oriented".
In an instructional design job, you'd be responsible for helping to create training, usually for a business, but possibly for a university, hospital, etc. - you can find us in pretty much ANY industry. One of the things I really like about the field is that you can get glimpses into MANY different jobs and topics, depending on what courses you're developing. On an ideal project you will use your psychology understanding (especially of cognitive-behaviorist and learner-based principles) to analyze your target audience and determine what specifically to focus on in the course, how best to teach certain things, etc. It's a good field if you like to work with people, the pay is pretty good, and my experience has been that there are a good number of jobs out there.
Of course there are drawbacks, too, but again, your question makes me think this is a field you should add to your list to consider. Happy to talk to you about it if you have questions - feel free to PM me. Good luck!
posted by DingoMutt at 7:07 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
In an instructional design job, you'd be responsible for helping to create training, usually for a business, but possibly for a university, hospital, etc. - you can find us in pretty much ANY industry. One of the things I really like about the field is that you can get glimpses into MANY different jobs and topics, depending on what courses you're developing. On an ideal project you will use your psychology understanding (especially of cognitive-behaviorist and learner-based principles) to analyze your target audience and determine what specifically to focus on in the course, how best to teach certain things, etc. It's a good field if you like to work with people, the pay is pretty good, and my experience has been that there are a good number of jobs out there.
Of course there are drawbacks, too, but again, your question makes me think this is a field you should add to your list to consider. Happy to talk to you about it if you have questions - feel free to PM me. Good luck!
posted by DingoMutt at 7:07 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
If development is an area of interest to you, then look into working with the Early Intervention and/or Head Start programs in your area. Or try working with kids in an after school program part-time for awhile if you're more into older kids. Work in a group home for teenagers/young adults. Find out if you really like development as it actually happens in people. Check out Child Life Specialist opportunities, as well.
There are so many paths opened for grad school that don't involve a Ph.D. that will lead to a career related to psychology. You could do BCBA, adjustment counseling, social work, mental health counseling, etc.
Branch out what you think of as psychological services and find a job in that area, work for a few years, and see if that's what you should do. If not, take another year and work in a slightly different field and see how that fits.
posted by zizzle at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2016
There are so many paths opened for grad school that don't involve a Ph.D. that will lead to a career related to psychology. You could do BCBA, adjustment counseling, social work, mental health counseling, etc.
Branch out what you think of as psychological services and find a job in that area, work for a few years, and see if that's what you should do. If not, take another year and work in a slightly different field and see how that fits.
posted by zizzle at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2016
Response by poster: Guys, thank you all so much. I think the biggest thing I took away from this is that I need to take some time off. I'm doing an internship this semester, and I remember talking to one of the employees who just got her PhD. As we were talking, she said that one of the things that she regrets is that she didn't take any time off, ever, to work.
I'll admit it. I'm afraid of the real world. I love learning and I don't mind studying something that interests me. I'd much prefer using my brain than working a monotonous job. I'm just a very curious person, and I have been since I was a kid. I need variety and I love the human sciences.
Ever since 2008, I have seen my parents fall apart financially. I have seen my dad lose his business and be forced to go to sales job to sales job, all of them crappy and bottom of the barrel stuff. I've seen my friends who didn't go to college work at Starbucks and Wallmart and warehouse jobs.
Honestly, I would rather die than waste my life doing that. I won't go and say that I'm brilliant, but I am smart, and I need to use my brain. I don't want to be stuck in retail or in the cubical farm, Office Space style.
I've had jobs before, of course. I have one now, you could say, it's just that it's an unpaid internship (mainly database grunt work stuff). My previous one, last semester and last summer, was working at a call center. Before that, retail at American Eagle and HotTopic. Before that I worked at Kroger (a grocery store) and Central Market pushing shopping carts.
So forgive me if my view is a little skewed in that college allows me to use my mind and the real world forces me to do minutia. I'm likely being stubborn and I need to stop fighting against reality, because that's my future.
In fact, that's probably exactly why I need to spend two years out in the real world with a real job, so I can get a better grasp about what I would be running from if I went to grad school. Maybe what I'm afraid of isn't so bad.
Lol decathecting, I wish I were 22. I'm 27. That's another thing that's feeding in to my fear.
I began to take community college in Fall of 2007 immediatly after graduating high school, and I floundered. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. I switched from no major to graphic design. I took a semester off to work full time in Spring of 2010 and came to attend until after Spring 2011. More lost than ever, I just quit for 2 years. I wasted those two years of my life. I was deeply depressed, lost, lazy, and coddled. I got a temp job hear and there, but I would always quit. I hated myself and wanted to die. I actually tried a couple of times and once even ended up in the hospital.
Then I made up my mind that I wanted to go back to college, starting in the Fall semester of 2013. I moved away from Fort Worth, left my friends (my family had to sell their house due to the economy, so they moved down here to the Hill Country in Texas with me... they are more happy than they ever were in Fort Worth). I essentially started my life over. I went to an actual University for the first time, moved out into my own apartment, and made college friends for the first time. And I'm glad to say that today, I am no longer taking my antidepressants or depressed in any way. Anxious about the future, but not depressed.
I've grown to love college. I have grown the discipline to study and if I made anything less than a 90 on my exams, I am deeply disappointed with myself, because I know what I am capable of. I'm aiming for the Dean's List this semester and my remaining two.
So decathecting, I've certainly taken a diffent route from the Hollywood one that you have described, but maybe, just maybe, once I graduate and take these two years out in the real world, things will be different. I will be stronger than I was before, more disciplined, more respectful of myself and my time here on Earth. I'd love to go traveling, as I'm fascinated by humanity, and you can't experience all that our bizarre species has to offer by just breathing in Americana.
posted by ggp88 at 8:24 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'll admit it. I'm afraid of the real world. I love learning and I don't mind studying something that interests me. I'd much prefer using my brain than working a monotonous job. I'm just a very curious person, and I have been since I was a kid. I need variety and I love the human sciences.
Ever since 2008, I have seen my parents fall apart financially. I have seen my dad lose his business and be forced to go to sales job to sales job, all of them crappy and bottom of the barrel stuff. I've seen my friends who didn't go to college work at Starbucks and Wallmart and warehouse jobs.
Honestly, I would rather die than waste my life doing that. I won't go and say that I'm brilliant, but I am smart, and I need to use my brain. I don't want to be stuck in retail or in the cubical farm, Office Space style.
I've had jobs before, of course. I have one now, you could say, it's just that it's an unpaid internship (mainly database grunt work stuff). My previous one, last semester and last summer, was working at a call center. Before that, retail at American Eagle and HotTopic. Before that I worked at Kroger (a grocery store) and Central Market pushing shopping carts.
So forgive me if my view is a little skewed in that college allows me to use my mind and the real world forces me to do minutia. I'm likely being stubborn and I need to stop fighting against reality, because that's my future.
In fact, that's probably exactly why I need to spend two years out in the real world with a real job, so I can get a better grasp about what I would be running from if I went to grad school. Maybe what I'm afraid of isn't so bad.
Lol decathecting, I wish I were 22. I'm 27. That's another thing that's feeding in to my fear.
I began to take community college in Fall of 2007 immediatly after graduating high school, and I floundered. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. I switched from no major to graphic design. I took a semester off to work full time in Spring of 2010 and came to attend until after Spring 2011. More lost than ever, I just quit for 2 years. I wasted those two years of my life. I was deeply depressed, lost, lazy, and coddled. I got a temp job hear and there, but I would always quit. I hated myself and wanted to die. I actually tried a couple of times and once even ended up in the hospital.
Then I made up my mind that I wanted to go back to college, starting in the Fall semester of 2013. I moved away from Fort Worth, left my friends (my family had to sell their house due to the economy, so they moved down here to the Hill Country in Texas with me... they are more happy than they ever were in Fort Worth). I essentially started my life over. I went to an actual University for the first time, moved out into my own apartment, and made college friends for the first time. And I'm glad to say that today, I am no longer taking my antidepressants or depressed in any way. Anxious about the future, but not depressed.
I've grown to love college. I have grown the discipline to study and if I made anything less than a 90 on my exams, I am deeply disappointed with myself, because I know what I am capable of. I'm aiming for the Dean's List this semester and my remaining two.
So decathecting, I've certainly taken a diffent route from the Hollywood one that you have described, but maybe, just maybe, once I graduate and take these two years out in the real world, things will be different. I will be stronger than I was before, more disciplined, more respectful of myself and my time here on Earth. I'd love to go traveling, as I'm fascinated by humanity, and you can't experience all that our bizarre species has to offer by just breathing in Americana.
posted by ggp88 at 8:24 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
My wife is in the last months of her postdoc with her PhD in Clinical Psychology and about to get into the real world, after years and years and years and years of college, research, defenses, classes, travel, conferences, internships, interviews, and the like.
She will be going into practice with a friend as well as running some research in a grant that she is associated with well. She's done heavy statistics, therapy, group sessions, rotations, and god knows what else. If you have any specific questions that her experience might be useful in answering you can feel free to memail me and I'll pass them on to her.
Godspeed.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:34 AM on March 29, 2016
She will be going into practice with a friend as well as running some research in a grant that she is associated with well. She's done heavy statistics, therapy, group sessions, rotations, and god knows what else. If you have any specific questions that her experience might be useful in answering you can feel free to memail me and I'll pass them on to her.
Godspeed.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:34 AM on March 29, 2016
Chiming in as a person who's a few years out of undergrad now: You do still learn things when you enter the working world--they're just not the same kind of things you'd learn in a classroom environment. Things like the jargon related to whatever industry you end up working in, the way a company operates, the way you interact with a group of people you see day after day. These things may not be as sexy as exciting as the material you learn in college, but they can still be very useful to you in the long run.
Plus, there are some cool things about the working world--mostly that you have free time once you're done working for the day, because when you get off work, that's it. You're done for the day.
Of course, there are some difficult things, too. You say that you need variety. Working life can feel repetitive, especially coming out of college, when your weeks are divided between Monday-Wednesday-Friday and Tuesday-Thursday classes, and your years are divided by semesters.
To cope with the monotony, I strongly recommend you pursue a hobby or two to keep you occupied during your off-hours and to keep things interesting. This will also help you meet new people, which can also be a bit tricky when you graduate.
Good luck! You're gonna be fine.
posted by dean_deen at 10:54 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Plus, there are some cool things about the working world--mostly that you have free time once you're done working for the day, because when you get off work, that's it. You're done for the day.
Of course, there are some difficult things, too. You say that you need variety. Working life can feel repetitive, especially coming out of college, when your weeks are divided between Monday-Wednesday-Friday and Tuesday-Thursday classes, and your years are divided by semesters.
To cope with the monotony, I strongly recommend you pursue a hobby or two to keep you occupied during your off-hours and to keep things interesting. This will also help you meet new people, which can also be a bit tricky when you graduate.
Good luck! You're gonna be fine.
posted by dean_deen at 10:54 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
You've already missed the window for applying to grad school next year so you are going to be taking a one year break anyway.
Before you decide if you want to get into grad school you should find out if you can actually get in. Talk to some of your profs and go with the your transcripts. Funded psychology phd programs are actually fairly hard to get into grade wise because there are lots of applicants. Masters programs are largely run as for profit extensions of undergrad programs in most places and don't significantly alter your employment prospects for the amount they will set you back since most are unfunded.
If you want to do research in psychology employment experience is largely meaningless (other than the motivating aspect of being in a cube farm for a year!). Instead work in a research lab as an assistant with someone whose reference letter will carry weight where you want to apply.
posted by srboisvert at 12:28 PM on March 29, 2016
Before you decide if you want to get into grad school you should find out if you can actually get in. Talk to some of your profs and go with the your transcripts. Funded psychology phd programs are actually fairly hard to get into grade wise because there are lots of applicants. Masters programs are largely run as for profit extensions of undergrad programs in most places and don't significantly alter your employment prospects for the amount they will set you back since most are unfunded.
If you want to do research in psychology employment experience is largely meaningless (other than the motivating aspect of being in a cube farm for a year!). Instead work in a research lab as an assistant with someone whose reference letter will carry weight where you want to apply.
posted by srboisvert at 12:28 PM on March 29, 2016
I have given this advice before, but one option I would suggest that you consider is going to a top business school and getting a PhD in organizational behavior (OB) or Management. About half of all Management scholarship is social psychology applied to business situations (and much of it is not that linked to business). In the field of Management, we call this research "micro" because scholars are studying individuals rather than entire organizations. To help illustrate this, consider that one of the top journals that scholars in this field publish in is called the Journal of Applied Psychology.
The academic job market is much better than in psychology and the pay is a lot better. Everyone who gets a PhD and who wants to is able to find an academic job. You also can get in with just a bachelor's degree if you have very good test scores (GMAT or GRE). If you want more info, feel free to MeMail me.
posted by bove at 12:38 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
The academic job market is much better than in psychology and the pay is a lot better. Everyone who gets a PhD and who wants to is able to find an academic job. You also can get in with just a bachelor's degree if you have very good test scores (GMAT or GRE). If you want more info, feel free to MeMail me.
posted by bove at 12:38 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've grown to love college. I have grown the discipline to study and if I made anything less than a 90 on my exams, I am deeply disappointed with myself, because I know what I am capable of.
Oh criminey. Don't go to grad school until you've pulled this pernicious idea up by the roots and set it on fire with extreme prejudice. Because you can be in the top five percent of your class in undergrad and still get murdered by the difficulty of grad school work. And it doesn't mean you're not smart, it just means that you're in an environment with an even higher concentration of people who are smart in a particular way. Don't join their ranks unless your self esteem is firmly detached from thinking grades reflect personal worth.
And don't go to grad school because you like learning and want to run away from the real world. That's not what it's for. A PhD program is a process in which you receive training to become the one doing the teaching and research and, frankly, as many other kinds of hard work as the CEO of a small company. Learning is a lifelong process that can be done in any kind of job and in any kind of situation, whether you're in school or not. The difference is that with a job someone is paying you to do that learning. When you're in school, you're paying them.
posted by MsMolly at 5:52 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh criminey. Don't go to grad school until you've pulled this pernicious idea up by the roots and set it on fire with extreme prejudice. Because you can be in the top five percent of your class in undergrad and still get murdered by the difficulty of grad school work. And it doesn't mean you're not smart, it just means that you're in an environment with an even higher concentration of people who are smart in a particular way. Don't join their ranks unless your self esteem is firmly detached from thinking grades reflect personal worth.
And don't go to grad school because you like learning and want to run away from the real world. That's not what it's for. A PhD program is a process in which you receive training to become the one doing the teaching and research and, frankly, as many other kinds of hard work as the CEO of a small company. Learning is a lifelong process that can be done in any kind of job and in any kind of situation, whether you're in school or not. The difference is that with a job someone is paying you to do that learning. When you're in school, you're paying them.
posted by MsMolly at 5:52 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
What about Psychometrics? Have you taken a statistics course, and did you enjoy it? Ah I see that you did. You seem extroverted. What about doing market research, focus groups, or something else in the area of advertising or even sales?
posted by gryftir at 10:25 AM on March 30, 2016
posted by gryftir at 10:25 AM on March 30, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Try HR, that's a place a lot of psych majors go.
As a college grad you're ready for entry level jobs. Find one that seems okay and do it. Keep reading and studying. If more education is needed, you'll figure it out. Usually...it's not.
I know staying in school seems like the safe option, but it's all going to end some day, better to face it now. Before you decide to take on a shit ton of debt on the off chance another couple of years of education are going to somehow coalesce into a fabulous idea of what you want to do in the future.
This is your life! Go live it!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:04 PM on March 28, 2016 [8 favorites]