What does one do with a degree in psychology? Whether it be behavorial, comparative, whatever.?

Question

I'm currently at a point where I just don't know what to do for the rest of my life. I've tried majors like BioChem, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Bio-Molecular/Medical science, and now I'm thinking about pursuing Psychology or Culinary Arts. It's as if my interests are stepping down in power. Yet, the earlier majors I've already tried did not present many favorable results.

I am in search of a career path where I would be good at and enjoy doing for 365 days every year. I've taken personality tests/inventories and they've always produced results aiming at my artistic ability. I do have a large interest in music, architectural stuff, and even watching/analyzing people's behaviors. I like pointing out other's errors and mistakes. Even correcting them should I feel the urge to. I also like creating. Ever since I was young, I had a love for Legos. I liked drawing simple blueprints of existing structures and rooms. This I did often when I was in High School. Now, I'm just lost.

Answer 1

I would look into human factors/ergonomic psychology. It would combine your interest in architecture in that you could design furniture, work stations, assembly lines, all sorts of things that would enhance and work with human performance. It would also challenge your interest in human behavior since this field interfaces between those two fields. Ergonomics can be approached from a solely engineering side, but I think this short changes the human interface side, so entering it from the psychological side would benefit you. See the Ergonomics Program at North Carolina State University, Psychology Department, for example.

http://www.hfes.org/web/Students/gradschools/northcarolinastatepsych.html

Answer 2

I'd say take a career or personality test somewhere. Counseling centers usually offer these sort of tests. That way, you can know, with some accuracy, what your strengths are and careers you will be suited for.

If you want to major in psychology, you should think about whether you want to do clinical, counseling, industrial and organizational, or biopsychology, etc. These all have varied work settings, so not all of them may be "watching/analyzing people's behaviors". But if that is what you like, you may want to consider social psychology or clinical psychology; both of these tracks allow you to eventually observe people's behavior. But you'll also be conducting research if you're a social psychologist and have to go through many years of graduate school training if you choose to become a clinical psychologist.

It's good that you have a lot of interests though, and your background in those sciences will be immensely helpful if you decide to pursue psychology. Good luck.

Answer 3

Hi my friend. I have pretty much the same problem. I am reading about the fields I feel I could enjoy working in, and try to discover myself. I am about to go to a personality test, just like you did. I do not know the solution recipe, as I need that desperately too, but let me give you a few tips on handling the problem.
1. If you think too much, your career views will get messed up (that is what's happening to me).
2. Be active in many things, without thinking about career, so you can maybe get the feeling of what really suits you.
3. Do sports as often as you can while you are in a bad shape (and at other times too).
It seems like we are similar, as I also love analyzing things, pointing out errors, trying to correct them - and I am totally lost.
You know, my friend, even though I cannot give you a recepie, don't forget that you are not alone with your problem: I have it, and probably many people have it.
I hope our problem will be solved soon, and wish you all the best!

Answer 4

Being nearly done with my doctorate in psychology, I know a thing or two about the field. Psychology is a vast field with many different career opportunities, but undergraduate psychology majors should be warned: Careers in psychology require graduate school. Simply having a bachelor's in psych is akin to having a liberal arts degree. I would encourage you to go to the website of the American Psychological Association (below). They have descriptions of all of the different roles of psychologists, career options, and even statistics on salaries. Check it out, hope that helps.

Answer 5

LMAO - either Bio-molecular/Medical Sciences or Culinary arts, huh?

Good luck, Einstein.

Answer 6

It is definitely my own psychosis that leads me in that direction. The aspects of aging as a side study makes me fear old age.