Have you ever wondered what a typical day looks like for a psychologist? What educational path should you pursue to become a psychologist? What advice would a psychologist give you as a student?
A series of video interviews with academic and research psychologists ranging from a cyber-psychologist to a school psychologist address these questions and more. Hosted by the national honor’s society of Psi Beta, the Psi Beta National Youtube Channelopens in new window contains brief 15–30 minute video interviews with psychologists about their career path.
Anyone interested in psychological careers can view the career series videos on the Psi Beta National YouTube channel. The career series videos feature interviews with psychologists in a variety of different settings and a wide array of professions. There is no typical route that these individuals took on their path to becoming a psychologist, but rather many routes, some circuitous, to reaching their dream job.
As a psychology student, you are learning and honing skills that qualify you for a 21st century evolving job market. So, what do these jobs look like? Interested students can watch these video interviews to get a sense of what different types of careers are out there, what psychologists find rewarding about their jobs and what has surprised them the most about their career path. Students can learn about the many subfields of psychology and get insights into the different academic paths and training routes to prepare for a career in psychological science. These videos can also be used in the classroom or in a Psychology Club meeting in lieu of a live guest speaker to shed light on, and introduce conversations about, careers in psychology.
Become a member of Psi Beta
Psi Beta is an honor society for students attending two year colleges who are majoring in psychology or are simply interested in psychology. Being a member of an honor society like Psi Beta allows students to develop skills that are desirable in the workforce. There is a national psychology honor’s society at every level of education. Psi Beta represents students attending two year colleges, Psi Chi is for students at four year colleges and graduate programs, and Psi Alpha is for high school students. Take time to find out if there is an honor’s chapter on your campus and find out how you can get involved. Getting inducted into an honor’s society and participating in leadership, research, and community service will help you gain experience in psychology and will provide you with valuable networking opportunities. Additionally, if you are a member of a student club, like a Psychology Club, you will have opportunities to learn more about psychology as a career and to develop sought after employability skills. I encourage you to use all of the resources below, including the Psi Beta National Career Video Series, to prepare for your career in psychology.
To learn more, follow Psi Beta on Instagramopens in new window and Psi Beta National on Facebookopens in new window.
References and resources
American Psychological Association (n.d.). Preparing to use your bachelor’s degree in psychology: Understand how your skills, degree, experiences, and brand prepare you to land a job that’s the right fit for you. https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/bachelors
Naufel, K. Z., et al. (2018). The skillful psychology student: Prepared for success in the 21st century workplace. www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/transferable-skills.pdf (PDF, 56KB)opens in new window
Psi Beta National. (n.d.). Home (YouTubeChannel). Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/4mmxr5scopens in new window
About the author
Since receiving her PhD in social psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Kimberley has taught as a full-time faculty member at Cerritos Community College for over 20 years, educating more than 600 students a year. Annually she mentors undergraduate students throughout the research process to present their novel empirical work at professional conferences. Many of her undergraduate students, most of whom are first generation college students, continue on to careers in psychology. Based on her long-lasting relationships with alumni, she developed the Mentoring through Alumni in Psychology website which highlights the success of former students and provides resources to help students be successful in their academic journey. She recently served a two-year term as the president of the national honor’s society Psi Beta.
Visit her website on mentoringopens in new window.
