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(Doctors of the Mind) |
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Researched by Samantha H.
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Research Summary
A psychologist is a person who helps people with mental or emotional problems. They are a little like a counselor and a little like a doctor.
Psychologists have to help people with their mental or emotional problems. Being a psychologist sometimes includes research to help create theories about learning, development, mental disorders, and emotional problems. Other psychologists use this research in practice to help people understand and cope with life.
Most psychologists work forty hours a week. They have flexible work hours. Some may have to work evening or weekends. School psychologists usually have the same work hours as teachers.
Many different types of psychologists have many different places to work. Some work at test publishing firms, college or universities, and federal agencies. A few more are in private research firms, public school systems, private practice, and hospitals.
Special types of psychologists include clinical, developmental, social, counseling, and school. Some others are industrial, consumer, psychometric, educational, and experimental. Each kind of psychologist has special responsibilities.
oClinical psychologists deal with mental or emotional disorders of their
patients. They are the largest group of specialists.
oDevelopmental psychologists study human development from birth to
old age.
oSocial psychologists study how people deal with each other and how
environment affects them. This is developed from four sources A) sociality
B) cultural anthropology C) psychiatry D) psychology.
oCounseling psychologists help people deal with problems that are hard
to face alone.
oSchool psychologists work with children in a school system and may
see very bright kids or problems kids who have been referred by a teacher.
oIndustrial psychologists study the relationship between people and
work.
oConsumer psychologists deal with public and how people react to products
or services. oPsychometric psychologists work with tests to study
intelligence, personality, and aptitude.
oEducational psychologists study how people teach, learn, test, and
about their attitudes. oExperimental psychologists do experiments on animals
but also humans. They study a particular aspect of behavior.
Psychologists use tools like computers and research journals published by other psychologists.
A good aspect about psychology is that it is interesting and challenging.
It gives you a chance to help people. It is a little like doctoring the
mind.
A not so good aspect would be that some patients have problems too
big to cure or fix.
High school subjects that are needed would be English, literature, writing, math, science, and psychology.
To be a psychologist it takes a Masters Degree and Doctoral Degree.
A state license is needed to have a job in psychology.
The personal skills needed would be intelligence, good ability to communicate and a caring attitude.
Classes to take in fifth through seventh grades would be science, writing, literature, and English. Writing and literature would be needed to take good notes while helping the patient.
A psychologist’s average yearly earnings was $48,596 in 2000. Industrial-organizational psychologists made more, about $66,880. Average annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of psychologists in 2000 were:
Hospitals $52,460
Elementary and secondary schools 51,310
Offices of other health practitioners 50,990
Offices and clinics of medical doctors 47,890
Individual and family services 35,720
In general, the starting salary for psychologists having a bachelor's
degree was about $21,900 in 2001; those with superior academic records
could begin at $27,200. Psychologists with a master's degree and 1 year
of experience could start at $33,300. Psychologists having a Ph.D. or Psy.D.
degree and 1 year of internship could start at $40,200, and some individuals
with experience could start at $48,200. Beginning salaries were slightly
higher in some areas of the country where the local pay level was higher.
The average annual salary for psychologists in the Federal Government was
$72,830 in 2001.
The outlook for the future growth of jobs in the US is as fast as average.
In the word psychology, "psyche" means soul and "logy" means logic and science. The founder of experimental psychology was Wihelm Wundt. Wilhelm Wundt had a M.D. and a P.h.D. Many famous US psychologists trained under him. The theory of conditioned response was the next major development in psychology. A famous pioneer was Simund Freud. Freud studied the meaning of dreams and emotional problems. Freud’s ideas are still in use today. Other famous psychologists from the U.S. are B.F. Skinner, Robert Woodwirth, Clark Hole, James Williams, and more.
Psychiatry is the closest related job. Psychiatry is one step above psychology because a psychiatrist must have a doctor’s degree and psychiatrists can prescribe medications for mental problems. Social workers are also closely related workers.
Psychologists need to go to four years of college, then two more years for a Masters Degree, and two to three more years for a Doctoral Degree, and licensing. A person can open their own practice or find job listings in the newspaper, on the Internet, or in professional journals.
Psychologists can advance faster when they have a Doctoral Degree. Experience
usually helps with advancement.
"Psychologists held about 182,000 jobs in 2000. Educational institutions
employed about 4 out of 10 salaried psychologists in positions other than
teaching, such as counseling, testing, research, and administration. Three
out of 10 were employed in health services, primarily in hospitals, mental
health clinics, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and other health
facilities. Government agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels
employed more than 1 in 10 in hospitals, clinics, correctional facilities,
and other settings. The U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and of Defense
employ a majority of the psychologists working for Federal agencies. Some
psychologists work in social service organizations, research organizations,
management consulting firms, marketing research firms, and other businesses.
After several years of experience, some psychologists—usually those with doctoral degrees—enter private practice or set up private research or consulting firms. More than 4 out of 10 psychologists were self-employed." This paragraph came from The Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Best web sites to learn more about psychology are www.psychecentral, www.psychology.com, and www.apa.org.
Most psychologists say that their job is fun. There are about 241,000
psychologists in the US. There are 4,500 jobs in Washington.
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