Career Options for Psych Majors with a Doctorate

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Career Options for Psych Majors with a Doctorate

• By Dan Bocchino
• Will Laible

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Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

• Most prestigious
• Awarded in many fields
• Primarily for a field in research
• Flexible degree
• Trains people for
• Research, Teaching, Writing, and Clinical Practice

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PsyD (Doctor of Psychology)

• Considered a professional degree
• Prepares graduate to be a consumer of research
• Based on practical and applied work
• Geared towards clinical practitioners

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EdD (Doctor of Education)

• Offered in the Department of Education
• Offers less training in the principles of
  Psychology
• Psychologists view the EdD as inferior.
• Viewed as equal to the PhD. in Administrative
  positions.

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Subfields
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Clinical Psychology

• Asses and treat mental and emotional disorders
• Promote Psychological well-being
• Can treat specific problems such as phobias and
  clinical depression
• Consult physicians on physical problems that have
  underlying psychological causes
• Down Syndrome
• Autism
• Work in hospitals, health centers, community
  health teams, child and adolescent health services

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Counseling Psychology

• Similar to Clinical Psychology
• Focuses more on persons with adjustment problems
• Help people use their strengths to cope with
  their problems
• Focus on how problems and people differ across
  life stages
• Employed in academic settings (college campuses),
  counseling centers, hospitals, and buisnesses.

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Forensic Psychology

• Apply psychological principles to legal issues
• Many are trained in both psychology (PhD) and
  law (JD)
• May work in correctional facilities, serve as
  consultants to trial lawyers, serve as expert
  witnesses at trials

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Health Psychology

• Specialize in how biological, psychological, and
  social factors affect health and wellness
• Focus on the promotion of maintaining good health
• Conduct programs to help individuals lose weight,
  manage stress, stop smoking and stay physically
  fit.
• Employed in hospitals, medical schools,
  rehabilitation centers, public health agencies,
  academic settings or private practice

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I/O Psychology

• Apply psychological principles and research
  methods to the work place, in the interest of
  improving productivity and the quality of work
  life.
• Many serve as human resource specialists help
  organizations with staffing, training, and
  employee development.
• Can work as management consultants in areas such
  as strategic planning, quality management, and
  coping with organizational change.
• Employed also in government and academic settings

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Teaching and Research

• Work in a university setting
• Will likely focus on both teaching and conducting
  research
• Can work for government agencies
• Can get job with masters, but you are less likely

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References

• http//www.psywww.com/careers/masters.htm
• Kuther, T. (2003). The Psychology Majors
  Handbook. Thomson Wadsworth
• http//www.apa.org