Moving out for the first time

[MillCreek]

I work in healthcare administration, and a psych degree can indeed be useful in healthcare, as long as it is a doctoral-level clinical degree.  Outside of a graduate-level psych degree, which could qualify one to do counseling, consulting, teaching or research, I am unsure as to the utility in the marketplace of an undergrad psych degree over and above many other liberal arts degrees. 

[member1313]

Sorry to hear that. What kind of degree did he get?

[member1313]

I earned a useful degree (sorry pal, psychology ain't)

Sorry, but a psychology degree is much more useful than people give it credit for. It won't get me a $50,000 starting salary that an engineering degree might get you, but a psych degree is useful in every part of the private and public sector, which means there is a higher quantity of jobs I can potentially take.

I'm assuming that statement was made out of ignorance, not out of knowledge.

It's your life.  If you wanna bet your future on the marketability of a psych degree, go for it.

My uncle majored in psych.  He got a nice shiny degree from one of the better schools, and thought he had the world on a string.  Then he tried to get a job.  And then he tried some more.  Then he tried even more.  Eventually he found one.  As a furniture maker.

He enjoyed the carpentry bit.  I think he spent 10 years or so having fun, playing with high powered tools.  Then he got married and had to start taking himself seriously.  He tried yet again to get a job (a real job, that is).

Eventually he gave up and went back to school for a degree in computer science.

Sorry to hear that. What kind of degree did he get?

I work in healthcare administration, and a psych degree can indeed be useful in healthcare, as long as it is a doctoral-level clinical degree.  Outside of a graduate-level psych degree, which could qualify one to do counseling, consulting, teaching or research, I am unsure as to the utility in the marketplace of an undergrad psych degree over and above many other liberal arts degrees. 

So you think anything but a graduate degree is useless?

Unfortunately, I'm beginning to agree.

I'm beginning to think I've made a big mistake with my major choice.

Edit: See, my idea of my perfect lifestyle is to be teaching at a university somewhere. I just think that be great. I'd be making enough money to live comfortably, and I will have accomplished a goal I set for myself.

But then I see the statistics on employment for psychology majors with bachelor's degrees, and it...makes me sad.

I think what I need to do is to work my ass off, get into a good/decent graduate school and hope that financial aid/stipends/part time job will support me. I guess I can live off of spaghetti and tap water. XD

[De Selby]

The short answer:


Go to law school, or do the prerequisite work for med school and go there. 

[member1313]

I have actually thought of law school.

You can still go to law school with a psych. degree, right?

[MillCreek]

I have actually thought of law school.

You can still go to law school with a psych. degree, right?

Yes, you can.  But if you wish to pursue your dream of teaching in psychology at the University level, you will require a Ph.D.  Achieving this level of degree will take a minimum of eight years from your first day of college; longer if you are going down the clinical track.  The job market for college professors in liberal arts is extremely competitive, often with dozens to hundreds of applicants for any tenure-track position.  Your chances of finding a job will be maximized if you are accepted into a well-known doctoral program at a prestigious University, have some pillars of the psychology community on your doctoral committee and publish several well-received papers in the professional literature.   If the stars align just right for you, and you get on at a University teaching psychology, you may be able to make tenure by your late 30's to early 40's.  It typically takes at least seven years at a University before you are eligible for tenure. 

Your dream is certainly achievable, but be sure to do some research first on the realities of getting through a doctoral program and then finding a job teaching psychology at the University level.   You will also be interested to note the average salaries for an associate, assistant and full professor; depending on the school and the area being taught, they can be astonishingly low.  This is usually a reflection of supply and demand.  I have several friends and professional colleagues teaching in higher academia, so I am familiar with much of this. 

[Desertdog]

I guess I can live off of spaghetti and tap water. XD

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are cheap and don't take as much work.
Also a dozen eggs last several meals.

[AntiqueCollector]

Well, you asked for it Rob...

My opinion: all conventional "jobs" are meaningless. You work for years and years for worthless fiat money so you can live in a crowded rat hole (city) dependent upon others' useful work (food production, etc.) for your very survival. I hate cities, masses of people, depending on others, etc. What the heck is the point in that lifestyle? You're just another cog, another tool for someone else's gain, and easy to control by the government.

You want to know my plans? I'm in college at the moment. But it's for a backup plan, for when I get older, if I get injured and need to earn money for bills, etc.. I'll have a degree in history and the ability to teach up to the high school level (though I'd likely need to take several more classes or pass tests in other states and such). Not a big paying job, but teaching jobs below the college level can be had if you've got the credentials, it just may take going to where the job is. But my main plan? Which I've been working on for years? I'm heading to the bush in Alaska, to be as self-sufficient as possible. I find far more meaning in doing things like growing my own food, hunting/fishing for my own food, supplying all my own needs, etc., than living in some city like you want to do accomplishing nothing but creating more clones of yourself who do nothing useful for either the economy or for their own survival.

If you wish to get yourself in debt for something that may never pay off (who the heck will hire you and pay what you think you should get, if the economy goes bad? Lots of highly educated people were on the streets during the Great Depression, and that was before we had such a problem with outsourcing lower end jobs that many survived on back then when the economy went sour. Think about all possible futures Rob) I suggest you either stay at home with your parents if they are okay with that, or you get a job. All the education in the world will be useless to you if you're starving. Hint: rice and beans are cheap, and besides that, learn to cook from scratch from basic ingredients instead of buying any mixes or premade whatever at the store, you'll be healthier and save a lot of money.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

quit sucking the parental tit and get to work
i left home at 15
i've got 2 pysch majors working on my carpentry crew now  they might get it toogether someday  if they stop getting high. one is 36  still lives in moms basement

[member1313]

Them not getting their act together, I believe, has little to do with their major.

[Monkeyleg]

Rob, it seems like you're stuck in a position where you can't make a decision. That's happened to me before. The last time that happened, my dad pointed it out to me.

"You're stuck," he said. "You can't move forward or backwards, because you can't make a decision. Make a decision!"

Once you make an informed decision about what you want to do, things get a bit easier.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Them not getting their act together, I believe, has little to do with their major.

their degree cjhoice has them banging nails though   and still sucking the parental teat  and grousing about it

[De Selby]

I have actually thought of law school.

You can still go to law school with a psych. degree, right?

Yep.  Just take the hard classes, get all A's, and nail the LSAT. 

[Bigjake]

Here goes. I'm a college student. I have little money, and am not really a fan of working while I'm taking classes.

skipping right to mean and heartless..... SUCK IT UP AND GET TO WORK.  If it was easy, any ahole could do it.

My neighbor is a single mother taking 15 credit hours, raising a 2 year old and working to support both.  I have ZERO sympathy for you. 

[Euclidean]

Edit: See, my idea of my perfect lifestyle is to be teaching at a university somewhere. I just think that be great. I'd be making enough money to live comfortably, and I will have accomplished a goal I set for myself.

But then I see the statistics on employment for psychology majors with bachelor's degrees, and it...makes me sad.

I think what I need to do is to work my ass off, get into a good/decent graduate school and hope that financial aid/stipends/part time job will support me. I guess I can live off of spaghetti and tap water. XD

Rob87, you can be a professor in any discipline, keep that in mind.  Granted some are in higher demand than others.

You should also keep in mind however that I don't know a single university professor who didn't work in their field of study for at least a handful of years.  There might be a few exceptions (some of my mathematics professors for example) but by and large, most of them get some practical experience.

Just take it one thing at a time.  Get a job.  It might take you a while, but you'll get one.  Then see how that goes.

[Phantom Warrior]

I STRONGLY suggest getting at least a part time job while you are going to school.  Your finances will be much simpler if you have a couple hundred bucks a month coming in to cover what I refer to as "beer money", even though I don't drink beer.  Beer, gas, snacks, movies, whatever.  Incidental expenses.  Even living simply, you will have some things that you have to pay for every week, like gas.

Even working just 10-20 hours a week or donating plasma (a great racket) will help out with that.  That way you don't end up in a hole before you even look at school expenses.  On campus jobs are a great option.  They are right where you have class and are usually very good about letting you come in for a few hours here and there.

I could write a book about joining the military.  I just enlisted in the Army two years ago, right after I graduated from college.  To avoid derailing this thread I'll just say this.  Don't join the military if you aren't willing to be owned body and soul.  To do whatever you are told whenever you are told.  If you don't like being bossed around or you have an authority problem, don't join.  I just got told we have to load all our duffel bags into the conex tonight and then take them back out "just to see if they fit." 

Also, be prepared to come to Iraq.  That's where I'm writing this post from, southwest Baghdad.  You have almost no chance of avoiding a deployment if you join the Army or the Marines.  You might have a better chance if you join the Navy or the Air Force, but there are still plenty of them over here.

If you have more questions about the military, PM me.

P.S.  You will usually get bumped up a pay grade ($100/month) or two if you have a couple years of college credits.  The Army is the most generous (I came in as an E-4), the Marines are the least.

[lupinus]

get a job.  We all have to do it, go to school nights if you have to.  But brother get a job!

Even if it has nothing to do with the goal you have for yourself later having a job history looks a lot better then just having your degree.  It doesn't need to be flipping burgers, but it needs to be something.  Without any job forget living expenses how do you afford anything?  Car?  Cloths?  Food?  It is a bad habbit to get into, next the reason will be that you can't find the job you want at the pay you want.  We all have to do it.

Also if you want to be a professor it's gonan be hard doing it fresh from school.

[MillCreek]

Rob87, take a look at www.higheredjobs.com to start getting a sense of the number of jobs, and the qualifications required, to teach psychology at the college level.

[Iain]

You just have to be good at it Rob, whatever 'it' is. An ex of mine is probably extremely unemployable in the eyes of many here - she's a PhD student in Philosophy (works with Psych types quite a bit too), thing is she's very good at it, is not short of funding and will be just fine whether she stays with academia or not.

[jeepmor]

People our age have been fed this crap that "If you enjoy your job nothing else will matter" and it's a load of bull.

Amen, a realist.  But don't think you'll get that "insert dream degree here" and it'll be any different.  You will, however, have more money to pursue your own interests.  Which, sooner or later, you'll understand, are more important than having a job you like. 

I was an avid woodworker and put food on the table for 2.5 years after college this way.  I mean I really loved woodworking and was pretty darn good at it from my high school background.  It soon became mundane and boring building custom kitchens, trade show booths, and museum exhibits for other people.  I did some very interesting work in regards to cabinetmaking, but it still was not that satisifying.  Very few cabinetmakers ever get to build the diverse projects I did, but still, having an engineering degree to pay for w/o the engineering pay was a bee-otch.  If I'd have made a decent living at it, that would be different, but it paid crap.  And without sufficient play money, life is really a monotonous boring grind working for "The Man" who pulls up in a lux'd out Mercedes and leaves at 2pm everyday to play golf.  Meanwhile I was trying to keep my Ford Escort running and only sustaining my life, not moving forward even enough to keep up with inflation.  It was a good motivator though, very good.

Screw college for now.  Go find yourself a good mountain town with some good terrain and learn to ski, snowboard, kayak, operate a lift, guide a river...whatever, and enjoy your youth.  I have a friend who did this until he was 25, then he got an engineering degree.  Lucky stiff enjoyed some of the best powder days ever working swing shift.  He could ride knee-deep fresh powder in the morning, then head out for work with burning thighs, raccoon tan, and a huge freaking grin on his face.  He tired of this after about 5-6 years, then headed off to school.   In the meantime he was a machinist and made really good money considering.  He shared rent with other bachelors to keep things affordable, made some good friends, and doesn't seem to regret any of it.  Now, he's more mature than most kids graduating college straight from high school.   He appreciates that he spent some of his youth being a kid, and also appreciates his new job a hell of a lot more than some of the thankless, coddled, punks that have had mommy and daddy putting off their launch into the working world well into their twenties.  I watched most of these types types of kids flunk out in less than one year, seriously, A LOT of them.  And those that made it, I've watched several of them have some serious teething issues when it comes time to "work" for a living and grow up, suck it up and do your damn job.

I did the college route and went straight out of high school into engineering curriculum.  Engineering is a good field, I'd suggest Civil if you want lots of rural town options when you graduate.  But as all jobs seem to, it goes in cycles.  I graduated into a dud market and struggled as stated above.  A piece of paper is not worth much if you can't find work.  And college loans kick in sooner than you think. 

I have two quotes on my desk that I have chartered my life by.

You should not confuse your career with your life.

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and will never achieve, it's full potential, that word would be "meetings".

Hope this helps.  Don't be a huge hurry to grow up, it is seriously over rated.  However, now that I'm 12 years into a good job.  I own my home, I've got some kickass toys and enjoy them a lot. I also appreciate them a lot more than most people because I did have to struggle quite a bit to get here.  Struggling, albeit painful, makes things stick better, and earned rewards are all that much sweeter when you do reach your goals.

On that note, I have neice with a psych degree and she's only making 12.24/hour two or three years out of college.  If you like money, you seriously need to reconsider the psych angle.  If you stay the course, plan on a masters or PhD at the minimum if you want to earn a good living.  Otherwise, you're always someone elses peon no matter how good you do.  I know, I just listened to my neice rant for two hours last night about all the BS she has to put up with, and she's contributing a lot for her employer and watching them get the credit for her work, and they get the money, not her.

[CAnnoneer]

Rob, whatever career path you choose, be sure to educate yourself by talking to people that have gone through it themselves. For example, if you want to be a psych prof, don't talk to us because none of us are psych profs. Instead, talk to your own profs and ask them to tell you what it takes to become and be one. The same holds true for any other profession. Generally, you will find out that the grass is less green and the road is longer and harder than previously thought. When properly informed, you will find the decision is not that difficult to make. Then go for it.