Career research assignment

Career Research Assignment Name: Claire Wray Due Date: 05-14-10 Part A. Focus Area Career Choice1. Psychology1. Child Psychologist(Clinical)2. Social Worker2. Health Care 1. Physical Therapist2. Nurse Part B. Pick one career to research – Make sure it is of interest to you! From the results listed, my career to research is Child Psychologist (Clinical) Job Description: In the field of psychology, psychologists study their patients’ mental processes and behavior in order to observe, interpret and record how people relate to each other in their environment. Although psychologists formulate theories and use other scientific reasoning like other social scientists, they concentrate on individual behavior and specifically, in the beliefs and feelings that influence peoples actions. Psychologists must be ready to investigate and inquire the reasons behind certain behaviors. Psychologists apply their knowledge to various endeavors where needed. Lastly, in this field you must be emotionally stable, mature, able to deal effectively with people, work well under stress and deadlines, must be sensitive, have a sense of communication, and the ability to inspire. 2. Working Conditions: The working conditions of this field depend on the place of employment which determines his or her working conditions. For clinical, school, and counseling psychologists in private practice set their own offices hours and work hours. Evening and hours outside the regular office hours depend on the psychologists’ patients and how much attention they need. Psychologists work in offices, unlike hazardous jobs like construction and cleaning, there aren’t any dangers that you would face on the job; except if your patients have a psychological disorder that causes them to act out of the ordinary. There are no gender stipulations; so either male or female can be in this field. ,[object Object],As a psychologist you earn salary wages and you can receive overtime depending on the job and whether it’s a private practice or not. The average wages are between $54,100 and $115,720 that a person can earn in this field. The starting wage that a person can earn is about less than $38,690. As your experience grows, a person can earn more than $149, 120 if you are very qualified. Benefits for being a psychologist usually include paid holidays and vacations, health insurance, and retirement plans. Career Path: After receiving an undergraduate and graduate degree, where you begin in the field depends on the degrees you possess. You move up in this career field bases on the types of degrees you obtain. These levels are only different based on qualification and amount of schooling. People in this field usually might obtain a different position like manager or president within their field. However, in order to obtain a different job you would need more schooling. Moving up within your field such as school psychologist, it would depend on the job and specific place you work at. Education and Training Requirements: A doctoral degree requires about 5 years full-time graduate study, and you can start in clinical, counseling, and school psychology. A specialist degree is required to work as a school psychologist as well. When you obtain a masters degree in psychology you are able to work as an industrial-organizational psychologist. It requires at least 2 years of full-time graduate study. However, in order to be at the entry level you must obtain a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 24 semester hours in psychology or a combination of education and experience. Licensing laws vary from state to state but in order to own your own solo or group practice you need to earn a license. Participation in advanced degrees helps you improve advancement opportunities. Beyond the educational and training requirements one must have personal qualifications which enable you to be a great psychologist and earn more money. Part C Post secondary #1 Post secondary Institution locationUniversity of PennsylvaniaName of programBachelor degree in PsychologyBrief DescriptionThe psychology department at this institution is the oldest in North America and first opened its doors in 1887 and since then it has produced a few of the top psychological scientists in the world. So it would be a great program to enter and learn where other great psychologists started.Why I want to learn/train hereI would like to learn at this institution because many great psychologists study here, so it must have a great program. Also it would be nice to venture away from home to see how the world is and be a little more independent. Post secondary #2 ` Post secondary Institution locationUniversity of Maryland, College ParkName of programBachelor degree in PsychologyBrief DescriptionThis a four year degree program where you take rigorous courses to prepare for psychology.Why I want to learn/train hereI want to learn and train here because it’s close to home so when I am ready to go home I can go home. Also, I want to easily obtain a job in Maryland and it’s easier to go to a Maryland school in order to obtain a job in the same state. Part D Education Path: Electives1._____AP Psychology_________ Grade __12____ 2.____AP Biology_________Grade _12___ 3.____Child Development____Grade __10__ 4.____Health_________ Grade ___09______ 5._____Biology_______Grade __09______ Part E Work Experience/Volunteer Experiences/External Courses 1. One community program I was involved in is that I volunteered as a counselor with the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission program where I assisted the counselors with the children and daily activities. 2. After volunteering, the next summer I became a counselor and worked more hands on with the children and had to relate to them on a psychological level at times. Part FNetworking ,[object Object],Part GEvaluating Websites Source #1http://www.bls.gov/OCO/Source #2http://www.collegecrunch.org/best-of/top-10-psychology-colleges-in-the-usa/Source #3 http://www.bls.gov/k12/index.htmEase of navigationThe subtitles on the actual page make it easy to locate the information I was looking for.It was very easy to locate the information I was searching for.The site was very easy to locate everything. As soon as you came to the site the questions began to help you find the right career.General User AppealThe site was appealing and informative.This site was appealing and also had links to the colleges that were on the list related to my career.This site was user friendly in that it was fun and easy to do the questionnaire. Just click on the button of your choice.Quality & ReliabilityThe site was from a governmental agency so it was very reliable and valid. The site appeared to be someone’s opinion but I rely on it since I looked into the colleges that were on the list.This site was also from a governmental agency so it’s pretty much reliable and valid as well. G. The Wrap Up After the extensive research that I have done, I still am interested in pursuing this career. The research enabled me to learn more about the career and the various criteria that must be done in order to obtain a career in this field. For example, I learned more about how to obtain a license and the benefits that come with this field. One thing that I was happy to learn was that as you earn more experience and obtain more degrees you eventually earn more money. One thing that I didn’t know about the field was how much personality qualifications that you should have in order to deal with the demands of the job. My favorite site that I enjoyed using was http://www.bls.gov/OCO. I really liked using this website the most because I felt that it was the most informative one out the ones that I did research on. It was very user friendly and easy to understand how to navigate on the site. If I was computer illiterate, using this site was very easy and no problems arose at all. All in all, this research project gave me more insight on what steps I should take in order to be in this career field choice of psychology. I hope I earn and achieve my goals.

Career research assignment

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Career research assignment