Is becoming a psychologist worth it? Any psychologists here?

[Preety_India]

@SamC you should definitely do it. Think about how many people you can help. 

 

[SamC]

43 minutes ago, Preety_India said:

@SamC you should definitely do it. Think about how many people you can help. 

 

@Preety_India Or I'll become a male stripper in Japan.  Two strong options 

[ilja]

Probably not, if you don't do some serious consciosness work after or don't want to become a really good therapist. Keep in mind that if you want to be a therapist you will need more years of training than an academic title, you need some deep empathy and wisdom. Maybe you could do profiling, or social work. Do you like psycholngy just for what it is?

Edited February 28, 2021 by ilja

[Jacobsrw]

On 27/02/2021 at 2:46 AM, SamC said:

As the title. 

Important to note, I live in Sweden where the university education is free + you get some money. My goal is to master psychology and than do public speaking. Will becoming a psychologist be worth my time? ( according to you guys, I want your thoughts) Thank you?

@Leo Gura

I finished my degree last year and can say it provides somewhat decent value in understanding cognition, society and academic writing. Also helped with my communication and composure. However, there are many pitfalls.

As @Moksha has mentioned it can be extremely valuable in a human behavioural sense. Yet as for deep faculties in human life and reality you need to study much broader and nuanced areas. Such as Existentialism, Transpersonal psychology, metaphysics, mysticism and ontology. Pretty much any philosophy on human mind and life is beneficial. Studying psychology in University is yields barely m any significance in this regard. It scratches the surface of these topics at most.

The bigger question do you see yourself doing this as a full time career in 5 years time? Do you yearn to learn this area of study? Do you have interest in human behaviour and the sciences? Or is this just a prerequisite study aim?

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Jacobsrw

[SamC]

29 minutes ago, Jacobsrw said:

I finished my degree last year and can say it provides somewhat decent value in understanding cognition, society and academic writing. Also helped with my communication and composure. However, there are many pitfalls.

Thansks for the input. Would you study it again? Why/ why not?

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As @Moksha has mentioned it can be extremely value in a human behavioural sense. Yet as for deep faculties in human life and reality you need to study much broader and nuanced areas. Such as Existentialism, Transpersonal psychology, metaphysics, mysticism and ontology. Pretty much any philosophy on human mind and life is beneficial. Studying psychology in University is yields barely m any significance in this regard. It scratches the surface of these topics at most.

Yeah I know. I can study that on my own hovewer outside of school. Than I get both.

Quote

The bigger question do you see yourself doing this as a full time career in 5 years time? 

yes, psychology/ spiritualism/ transpersonal psychology is my zone of genius.

Do you yearn to learn this area of study?

I want to learn everything.

Do you have interest in human behaviour and the sciences?

yes but mostly in a more Carl Jung observing style. I'm not interested in the double blind experiments cause that misses the point.

Or is this just a prerequisite study aim?

In one way it still is. I want to become a psychologist becuase it is super practical and makes it easier for me to reach outwards towards researching the real deal and than implementing it ( Spirtuality, transpersonal psychology)

@Jacobsrw

Edited February 28, 2021 by SamC

[SamC]

6 hours ago, ilja said:

Probably not, if you don't do some serious consciosness work after or don't want to become a really good therapist. Keep in mind that if you want to be a therapist you will need more years of training than an academic title, you need some deep empathy and wisdom. Maybe you could do profiling, or social work. Do you like psycholngy just for what it is?

I would be a great psychologist. That's basically my zone of genius - understanding and supporting people. The question is if it's worth 5 years, becuase the education seems limited.

[Jacobsrw]

51 minutes ago, SamC said:

Thansks for the input. Would you study it again? Why/ why not?

Yeah I know. I can study that on my own hovewer outside of school. Than I get both.

@Jacobsrw

Interesting responses. You seem to be genuinely interested in the field which is really great to hear. Sorry it was hard to tell by your first post. 

So for myself, yeah I would study it again but only if I could find more philosophy subjects to go along with it as electives. I feel that is by far the biggest pitfalls of psychology nowadays, is its denouncing of philosophy. The very thing that made it what it first was.

I plan to do further study, maybe masters etc. as I have aims to operate my own practice. See what happens though as I am working on my own business at the moment.

I see why psychology is an important choice for you, considering it’s applicability when working with people and implementing therapy. But it could also be beneficial looking at areas such as counselling too. I personally found that immensely enjoyable.

Study the works of Milton Erickson, Jay Haley, Gregory Bateson and Salvador Minuchin. These guys founded strategic therapy and systemic therapy. Very powerful aspects of psychology. Particularly, Milton Erickson he was an immensely interesting psychotherapist working in the area of hypnotherapy for his patients. Paradoxical interventions are an intriguing read.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Jacobsrw

[ilja]

2 hours ago, SamC said:

I would be a great psychologist. That's basically my zone of genius - understanding and supporting people. The question is if it's worth 5 years, becuase the education seems limited.

the education is limited, but can give you something to stand on financially if the demand isn't saturated. Depending on what you want to do with it. You probably would be a good psychologist. Just keep in mind to learn a different language, in case you get work somewhere abroad, because a lot of women like to do psychology and i dont see a high demand for it in wealthy environments.

[Moksha]

7 hours ago, SamC said:

I would be a great psychologist. That's basically my zone of genius - understanding and supporting people. The question is if it's worth 5 years, becuase the education seems limited.

It might be different in Sweden, but here in the U.S., a B.S. degree in psychology is useless. If you want to make a career out of psychology, it is pretty much mandatory to get an advanced degree.

Personally, if you are looking to help people with spiritual growth, I would avoid psychology entirely. Focus on the direct path of your own spiritual growth, followed by helping others with theirs. If you have a strong research focus, you could take the transpersonal psychology route, but that would likely mean getting a Ph.D. and working in an academic setting.