My Future Profession – Psychologist

As a freshman in high school, getting used to everything that is new is quite difficult. Taking everything in and trying to handle many things at once is a struggle, even though college might seem far away, but in reality, it is only 4 years away. Trust me, there are more urgent things to worry over than college, but you always have to make sure you are always working up to what you want to be in college. Before, when people asked me what I want to be, I had no idea, so the Naviance test helped me immensely. Now, since I know what I like and dislike for my future careers, I now know that I want to be a counseling psychologist. I want to become a counseling psychologist because of the requirements for the job, the responsibilities, and the overall employment outlook. As of 10 years today, I will hopefully have finished regular college and currently be in medical school, I will hopefully become fully licensed when I am 30-34 if I pursue all of my years in the beginning.

In order to become a licensed counseling psychologist, you need many requirements. First you need to earn a bachelor degree in psychology which takes about 3 to 4 years, then if you want a doctorate level degree you need 4 to 7 years of graduate school. In order for you to get a license, people usually spend eight to twelve years in order to become a fully licensed psychologist. During the college fair, I visited Miami University, Xavier, and The University of Cincinnati and I had asked if their psychology program is up to other colleges standards, and I was very surprised of all their answers. They all told me that psychology was one of their top programs of all the schools I visited. After I visited the colleges, I looked at their pamphlets, and was relieved that their information was very accurate from what they told me. So far as a freshman I am unable to do anything to help my future career, but the thing that surprised me the most was the amount of universities around me that had such amazing psychology programs. Even though there are many requirements for this field of work, it will eventually pay off and I am willingly to do whatever it takes.

The responsibilities of becoming a counseling psychologist is a lot to handle as a freshman, especially since right now I can't help ease the process. Some responsibilities of being a counseling psychologist requires you to include and collect information through observations, interviews, and different types of methods. Another responsibility they have, is to use what they know to understand the individual or group to help them to the best of their abilities. The most difficult responsibility I have learned is making sure you are always up to date with new psychological studies, so you are making sure your patient is receiving the best treatment and care. A responsibility that surprises me is that you work alongside with many other professions such as nurses, teachers, or even clinical doctors. Even the thought of doing everything that a counseling psychologist is able to do, excites me for hopefully my future career. Thinking of all the future responsibilities I am going to have to take on with being a counseling psychologist is a bit intimidating, but like I said before, it will eventually pay off and I will do whatever it takes.

The statistics for the employment outlook for overall psychologists are supposed to increase 14% from the year 2016 to 2026. By having the employment outlook increase by 14% it is a sign of having it look better than the year 2016. Even though the description of the job really persuaded to pursue this career, the salary is also a huge plus. Since there will be a lot of years of medical school to pay off, the average annual wage of a counseling psychologist will definitely help. The average wages range from $77,000 to $90,000 yearly, and 10% of the psychologist make up to $126,000 per year. Another positive about this job is that in almost every city, they will need a counseling psychologist, so after I finish my years of school, I will most likely get a job straight away. I am not looking forward to all of the extra years of school, but thinking of the results making this job as a counseling psychologist my career, will get me through all the hard years to come.

As a freshman, now knowing what I might possibly pursue for my future career, my future seems a lot less scary. Even though a counseling psychologist takes a lot of patience and years of school to finally reach the top and receive a full license of psychology, the end will all be worth it. People have told me in the past that I am very understanding of everyone, and that I give out great advice, so those are some reasons I want to become a counseling psychologist. Counseling psychology is a job of listening and observing how to help people with conflicts and issues during their life, and figuring out how you can treat them. Even though as a freshman you aren't as pressured about your future rather than the next couple of years, but it helps immensely knowing what I want to do as a career, a counseling psychologist.

Works Cited

""Summary."" U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 Apr. 2018, www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm.

Admin. ""Life as a Psychologist - Job Description."" A Day in the Life of a Sales Rep, ApplyDirect, 30 Sept. 2018, www.applydirect.com.au/Blog/psychologist-job-description.

Capella University. ""FAQ'S Psychology"" 2018, https://www.capella.edu/online-psychology-degrees/FAQ/how-long-does-it-take-to-become-a-psychologist/

Cherry, Kendra. ""How Long Does It Take to Become a Psychologist?"" Verywell Mind, Verywellmind, 27 Aug. 2018, www.verywellmind.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-become-a-psychologist-2794935.

Sraders, Anne. ""How Much Does a Psychologist Make?"" TheStreet, TheStreet, 29 June 2018, www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/psychologist-salary-14637592.

Truity. ""Psychologist."" Rehabilitation Counselor Career Profile | Job Description, Salary, and Growth | Truity, www.truity.com/career-profile/psychologist.

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