What do you think of psychology as a career?

[Abe]

I was just wondering if any INTPs out there had a job as a psychologist. Lately I've been searching for what I should be when "I grow up" and today, my boyfriend asked me if I had ever considered being a psychologist.

I'm interested in how people's minds work and what makes people tick.
I'm very empathetic, which I feel might come in handy if I chose to enter the field of psychology, but I lack any real sympathy for people.


So basically what I'm asking is, are there any INTPs here that are in this line of work and if so, do you like it? Are you good at it? Does being an introvert get in the way or can you learn to overcome that?

 

[Hadoblado]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Can't spell it don't do it.

jk

There seems a lot of people wanting to go into psychology here, this is like the 3rd/4th thread like this I've seen recently. It sounds like you've got the right interests, sympathy is not a prerequisite (and sometimes I imagine it gets in the way). I'm not a psychologist, but I'm in my third year studying it.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Here are a few questions in order you should ask yourself:

1) Do you have the money in hand to pay for the degree?
1.1) If yes, do you see the degree as an investment?
1.2) If yes, how does it compare against the other investment you could make with the money?

2) If no to question 1, do you require a loan to pay for the degree?
2.1) If yes, do you see the degree as an investment?
2.2) If yes, what are the prospects that the degree will bear rent such that you will be able to pay off the student loan?
2.3) How does it compare against the other investment you could make with the loan?

My point: If you require a loan, don't do it for the "life experience". More importantly, if you require a loan and there are low prospects that you will be able to pay it off from the rent provided by your degree, don't study psychology.

 

[Architect]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Not a good fit. Read up on A.J Drenth aka "Personality Junkie" on this. I believe he has a Psych PhD and regrets it. Getting a psych degree is likely an inferior crutch, and while it gives a short term benefit won't be satisfying in the long term.

 

[Valentas]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

I don't know. I strongly suggest to not get into debt at these perilous times. Especially not in the US. Because once you graduate, you are an instant slave. If I were American citizen, I'd find a country with good unis and cheap education. Germany is amazing. It's tuition is like 1k euros(idk about international students though) and quality is superb. If you are from EU, try Scotland. Free tuition for EU students.

About psychology? There were 5 times less new jobs than psych graduates in the UK. So this is to inform you of possible job prospects. Psych is almost at the top of all degrees studied in the UK.

 

[redbaron]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Psychology too often seems to be what people do when they don't know what else to do. A university degree should really be something you do because you really want to do it, and are committed to mastering and being good at it.

I suggest that if you don't know what you want to do: join the workforce. Experiencing the world outside of the scientific arena (the thing I always wanted to do) really imbued me with a deep appreciation for science, and has propelled me towards completing a degree in physics and mathematics. Two things I was great at in school, yet declined to study on a higher level because I was too lazy - I knew that as well, that I wouldn't put in the commitment required to do it.

In a sense I feel sheepish for not being mature enough to commit, but also relieved that I didn't pursue it then. I'm much more experienced now, and the simple fact that I'll be focussed on the things that I'm passionate about after having to endure the dreary, mind-numbing work of the corporate world excites me.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

And don't go to uni for the "life experience".... I hate those people.

 

[Etheri]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

And don't go to uni for the "life experience".... I hate those people.

Why? This is most likely the best time of my life. Not because i'm out partying, but because I have insanely little obligatory meetings and insane amounts of freedom and time to do with as I please.

 

[just george]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

It's a fake profession whose days are numbered.

 

[TimeAsylums]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

And don't go to uni for the "life experience".... I hate those people.

I...I...I love you...

Proxy, I know we have our I/E differences...but I think we could make this work...

 

[Puffy]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Like others have said, psychology is a very competitive career choice in that quite a lot of people study it.

I'd say in general no holds barred for anyone who is both really compassionate about something and shows signs of talent in that area though. My Sister (who isn't an INTP - ENFJ or perhaps ESFJ wouldn't surprise me) does psychology at University and I'd say her approach has been good.

Before starting the degree she volunteered to shadow and do secretary work for a few psychologists; she also made close connections with her college (high school equivalent) psych teachers and has helped teach classes with them to gain experience in the summer holidays. This is worthwhile, because a) it's work experience you'll need to distinguish yourself from other students and b) it gives you a taste of whether it's work you'd enjoy.

It's all the nitty-gritty stuff, but often stuff like that, and connections/ who you know, are some of the most important stuff. I don't doubt that an INTP dedicated to any particular subject can get a good grade in a degree course if they're motivated.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Why? This is most likely the best time of my life. Not because i'm out partying, but because I have insanely little obligatory meetings and insane amounts of freedom and time to do with as I please.

Prolonging your adolescence?

I...I...I love you...

Proxy, I know we have our I/E differences...but I think we could make this work...

I love you too.

 

[Jennywocky]

Coming at it from a practical end of things, in the United States to make a career of it you're pretty much virtually required to get a PhD (unlike some other fields, like tech). A Bachelors doesn't do much for you; you need a Masters to qualify for the lower-paying jobs and a PhD to advance.

 

[ummidk]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

And don't go to uni for the "life experience".... I hate those people.

Enough to post about it twice in one thread in 5 hours?

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Enough to post about it twice in one thread in 5 hours?

Yes.

 

[Rook]

Have you given neuroscience a thought? It also attracts people who are intrigued by the mind, but it is a somewhat more diffucult than psychology, but still an option though.

 

[walfin]

While all the T types give you all that practical economic advice, I'll say the typical idealistic NF thing, Do what you love!

It's true that psychologists do often seem to need to go for postgraduate degrees but if you can stick it out and it's what you like you won't regret it.

All the best with your life.

 

[Cavallier]

Coming at it from a practical end of things, in the United States to make a career of it you're pretty much virtually required to get a PhD (unlike some other fields, like tech). A Bachelors doesn't do much for you; you need a Masters to qualify for the lower-paying jobs and a PhD to advance.

Blargh. This is especially true if you live in the parts of the U.S. that are highly educated. I lived in a small town with a University in it. A person had to have a four year degree just to pump gas around there.

 

[TimeAsylums]

Blargh. This is especially true if you live in the parts of the U.S. that are highly educated. I lived in a small town with a University in it. A person had to have a four year degree just to pump gas around there.

How's the crime rate?

 

[Cavallier]

Low except for fraternity row. A bum was shot by a drunken frat boy.

 

[Vrecknidj]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013...and-least-lucrative-college-majors-in-1-graph

 

[Redfire]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Not a good fit. Read up on A.J Drenth aka "Personality Junkie" on this. I believe he has a Psych PhD and regrets it. Getting a psych degree is likely an inferior crutch, and while it gives a short term benefit won't be satisfying in the long term.

Can you please elaborate? I'm considering switching from computer science to a major which combines psychology and neuroscience. Everything you say about computer science being a great choice for INTPs sounds very reasonable to me, and I agree (that is part of the reason why I picked CS), but then why do I hate every single class I'm doing at the moment? I'm currently doing mathemathical analysis (calculus), physics, and algebra.

It could be that I'm not actually INTP, but I think that is highly unlikely (ElvenVeil, for instance, a forum member who I talk to regularly, said he is positive that I'm an INTP when I was having doubts).

All throughout high school I did great in social science, and I specifically like psychology a lot. Family, teachers and friends were surprised when I told them I was majoring in CS.

As other people said many forum members are considering the option (in addition to the countless ones that may be just stalking the forum, as I usually do). That's why I think it's quite an important question.

 

[Hadoblado]

No offense to Elven (jeez I haven't heard from him in awhile, how/where is he?), but I wouldn't necessarily base your diagnosis off one person's opinion.

Furthermore I wouldn't base your career decisions off your supposed type, even if the truth value of your type were granted.

 

[TwinkleBat]

Cognitive Neuroscience is a field that often incorporates psychology and neuroscience. It's like the hard(er) science version of psychology. If you're interested in how minds work, but not too interested in dealing with people, that might be a good fit. Have you ever taken a psychology course? That might be a good way to start. If you're not in school, there's free ones offered online, like at coursera.org or udacity.com, or check out the lectures on iTunesU.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Cognitive Neuroscience is a field that often incorporates psychology and neuroscience. It's like the hard(er) science version of psychology. If you're interested in how minds work, but not too interested in dealing with people, that might be a good fit. Have you ever taken a psychology course? That might be a good way to start. If you're not in school, there's free ones offered online, like at coursera.org or udacity.com, or check out the lectures on iTunesU.

'Thinking Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman is a good introduction to this field of research.

 

[Redfire]

That is actually really helpful guys. Why is cognitive neuroscience better if you are interested in how minds work, but not interested in dealing with people? Because that describes me perfectly.

I haven't taken a psychology course, but I imagine in my country (Argentina) things are not exactly the same anyhow. This major I was talking about is the closest match I could find. When you do it you can specialize in either clinical psychology or neuroscience. You also have master's degrees and research groups in the university itself, and you can do some practices in the university hospital right next to it.

I'll check out Kahneman's book.

Elven is very busy studying I guess, he is getting into system dynamics or something like that.

 

[TwinkleBat]

Cognitive Neuroscience looks more at the brain, at the biological level for things like memory and emotion, and kind of how that connects to the mind and behavior. Try wikipedia for a more basic overview, and I'd also recommend this site: http://www.mind.duke.edu/.

Also, try these sites (you should be able to access them from Argentina; I don't know if they will be relevant), but they should give you an idea of what a psychology major entails:
- www.saylor.org/majors/psychology/
- www.udacity.com/course/ps001
- www.coursera.org (use the built-in search for psychology and/or medicine because sometimes the neuroscience courses go in there)

Lastly, with clinical psychology, you will be dealing with people all the time, usually listening to them complain and helping them work through their problems. If that's not your thing, definitely take the neuroscience route. Way cooler (in my opinion). If you go neuroscience, it might be worth learning a little about computer programming, too, because most of the research going on right now is computational. Coursera has some really cool Neuroscience courses being offered, some of which may be over your head depending on how much you know about the brain, but none of them are available right now, so you have some time to catch-up. I'd especially recommend Medical Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, and Synapses, Neurons, and Brains (you can sign up for alerts when new sessions become available). Neuroscience is an awesome field, and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors if you decide to go for it.

 

[Redfire]

Those links should keep me entertained for a while.

I would definitely pick the neuroscience specialization, of course, but I'm wondering if that is enough to actually get into the field. It is not an actual neuroscience major, it is a psychology major with lots of neuroscience subjects and a neuroscience specialization. It is the closest thing I could find. Otherwise I guess I'd have to study medicine, biology or something like that.

Here's the major if anyone reads Spanish: http://www.favaloro.edu.ar/perfil-del-egresado-de-la-carrera-de-psicologa-8.html

I always thought neuroscience was an awesome field. The question is whether this is the best way for me to get there.

 

[TwinkleBat]

Unless your university has a neuroscience major, your best bet is to find something close enough, make sure any special projects (like a thesis) are done on neuroscience, research as much as you can in the field, read books and articles on related topics you're interested in, and try to get into a graduate program in Neuroscience. An undergraduate degree won't get you very far most places. Psychology is one path you can take. Medicine will most likely lead you towards neurology or neurosurgery (also interesting fields). Biology may or may not point you towards neuroscience, but you definitely want to take some biology classes if you can. It's crucial towards understanding the brain and the biological basis of behavior. And chemistry, which will be useful for understanding biology. Also, as I said before, some computer programming classes will be useful. For example, synapses are binary; they either fire or they don't. In a brain-computer interface, the sensors can gather that information from a nerve, and a computer can read the firing, the amplitude and frequency of the spikes, and work with it to, say, move the arm of a paralyzed person.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I respect A.J Drenth's perspective immensely. Psychology is a good field for an INTP but not in directly conducting therapy (too people intensive) but rather in research. One area you may want to look into is marketing analytics. This incorporates psychology and anthropology toward qualitative and quantitative research for the purpose of providing consumer/customer insights to aid in the general marketing/advertising strategy that bands employ to increase consumer buying behavior. Higher education could be another application as that is more geared toward research.

 

[Beat Mango]

MIT has computer programming 101 as a compulsory subject in the neuroscience program.

I'd find research neuroscience a stimulating career, but I'd hate to be a talking therapist (shrink).

 

[pluviophile]

I've been struggling with this myself, and one thing I've found that had some merit goes along with what Paradox said about research - Experimental research. You do need a PhD, but you get to run experiments, do research, and you don't have to do the hands-on feely thing. They pay can be pretty awesome, depending on who you are working for. However, it's not for animal lovers - doing experiments on monkeys, mice, and pigeons may not be for everyone.

 

[Lot]

It could be a good choice. I know it's what I want to do. Kind of what I've always wanted to do.

Do you think you can put up with people's stupid shit all day?
Are you ready for people to be shitty and continue to ignore your help?
Will you take it personal if someone doesn't think you can help them?
Are you willing to work with someone that doesn't want to be seeing you, but is being forced to?
Can you put up with all the schooling?

Personally, I feel like it's the only thing I can do competently and enjoy. I've done some pre-marital counseling, in the past. One of the two times, it helped. The people it didn't help, didn't listen. I've also worked with various friends and strangers. It makes me happy. I feel a bit hypocritical trying to help people, when I'm a mess in the noggin as well.

I take more of a "the choice is yours" kind of approach. Lay out the theory. Give some examples. Give some options. Show support. Listen the whole way through. I'm better face to face than online .

It has potential to be a rewarding career for an INTP. It could also be a fucking nightmare. Each person is different. So that gives a different and unique problem to solve each time. But some human problems are unsolvable. Often, because people are weak, cowardly, stupid, shy, uninterested... The list goes on. I don't think we would make the perfect psychologist for every person, in every season of life.

 

[Architect]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

Can you please elaborate? I'm considering switching from computer science to a major which combines psychology and neuroscience. Everything you say about computer science being a great choice for INTPs sounds very reasonable to me, and I agree (that is part of the reason why I picked CS), but then why do I hate every single class I'm doing at the moment? I'm currently doing mathemathical analysis (calculus), physics, and algebra.

There can be a lot of reasons for that. What I mean by "CS is the best major/career for an INTP" is a nuanced one. This means that I believe it to be true with all else being equal. In other words, if you were to take a statistical distribution of INTP's and find out what they did, you'd probably find the CS/IT ones enjoyed the most fulfillment. That does not imply the converse, that every INTP will enjoy going into CS. There could be plenty of reasons for it. Not enough background, no enjoyable memories of working on the computer, or never learned to enjoy problem solving. These are all personality issues, not type. However if a person was to overcome these issues they would probably find the most fulfillment in CS.

 

[Beat Mango]

However, it's not for animal lovers - doing experiments on monkeys, mice, and pigeons may not be for everyone.

Yeah. My friend decapitates rats, then opens their skulls with a nutcracker to get at their brain, which is then of course dissected

 

[Redfire]

I do lack background, my high school was severely lacking in the hard science department. But nevertheless, since I'm not doing so good so far, I figured I'd rather be an excellent neuroscientist than a middling programmer. Besides, I do know for sure that I'm fascinated by both neuroscience and psychology, while CS is just a bet (I never actually programmed anything).

Thanks for the answer though. And I think your advice is solid, even though I don't think continuing my CS major is a good bet for me.

 

[crippli]

Yeah. My friend decapitates rats, then opens their skulls with a nutcracker to get at their brain, which is then of course dissected

Rat brain? for what?

 

[doncarlzone]

Re: What do you think of phsychology as a career?

There can be a lot of reasons for that. What I mean by "CS is the best major/career for an INTP" is a nuanced one. This means that I believe it to be true with all else being equal. In other words, if you were to take a statistical distribution of INTP's and find out what they did, you'd probably find the CS/IT ones enjoyed the most fulfillment. That does not imply the converse, that every INTP will enjoy going into CS. There could be plenty of reasons for it. Not enough background, no enjoyable memories of working on the computer, or never learned to enjoy problem solving. These are all personality issues, not type. However if a person was to overcome these issues they would probably find the most fulfillment in CS.

Even if you were to accept the speculation that most fulfillment for INTPs statically is found in a newly invented field, which is possible, this would not necessarily mean that INTPs outside of this field all have personality issues which could be overcome, and that by doing so could achieve greater fulfillment. If this was the case, then with the right upbringing all INTPs could be nurtured into loving CS and in fact should be, as they will never find any more fulfillment than in this field.