need help with deciding college degree.?

Question

I need advice. I am trying to decide on which degree I should get. I am in college right now and I just got accepted into a university, however I might need to stay in community college one more semester if I choose Psycology as my major. My goal is to become a marriage and family therapist. I was told to get a social work degree my problem with that is social work has way too much volunteer work and i am too busy to get it done. so i went to the school councelor and she told me to go for a B.A. in psy and a counceling masters. well my social work teacher has told me that I cant do anything with a B.A. in psy and would have to get my masters. well i was planning that anyways i just was hoping to get a job after my bachelors, and many people have told me that there is nothing i can do with a B.A in psycology. so my question is do i go for psy or social work? thanks everyone.

let me clarify i am 36 years old and have a family and i homeschool and i work full time its not that i am trying to be lazy, i am truely busy, and cant quit work to do volunteer work. a bachelors in psy does not have volunteer work, a social work degree does, but its not in counceling, its in social work, cps, things like that, i know i did the program for a semester. but in psy i dont have that it it is more towards counceling so to speak however the job propects when i get done with the bachelors is the problem. yes i will have to do volunteer work at the masters level but doing for 2 years instead of 4 sounded better to me, just wanted to know what i could do with a BA in psy. guess i needed to explain myself better.

Answer 1

If you're too busy to get the practicum hours done for the social work degree, then you're too busy to go to school for more years and STILL have to do the practicum hours for the MA in psychology. Either way, you'll need "hands on" experience in a clinical setting, as that is where the practical skills are developed that make you employable.

Your social work teacher is correct - you can't practice psychology with just a B.A. If your goal is to be a therapist, it seems to me that you're better off finding out sooner rather than later what it's really like in the field - meaning doing those practicums as an undergraduate and get the social work degree. If you're too busy to do them, then it seems as though your priorities are elsewhere and you really don't want to do this.

Getting practical experience through the social work degree will be the best investment you can make in yourself and will pay off far better and SOONER than anything else you're too busy with right now. You can't go wrong, as you could STILL go for a M.A. in psychology later.

Updated response: OK, clearly you ARE very busy, but I was right that your priorities are elsewhere, as they should be with a family. As to what to do with a BA in psychology, you can't be a therapist, but you'll have a liberal arts degree that will have broad applications in any area of work and should help you get higher pay. Again, it's the hands-on experience that would help you get a job in the psychology field so perhaps your current job or homeschooling work would have some applications.

Answer 2

well a masters in Psychology will benefit you alot more. You really can't be a counselor with a just a B.A. in psycology because usually majoring in Psy during your undergraduate studies is to prepare you for graduate school. I mean the social work does sound like a good idea but if you really want Psy then go for it.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Knew i wanted to be an engineer from age 4. My daughter knew she wanted to be a transportation geek from age 4. She is getting her PhD now in transportation engineering. all human beings i understand knew what they wanted to take from age 15 on the maximum recent.