Since Psychology is such a vast Science, the question of why become a Psychologist can be tough. As seen in the Careers in Psychology post there is a huge array of careers as a Psychologist. The study of human behaviour and mental processes is so big because it is applicable to every human being (as well as animals) on Earth; it’s no wonder the study of Psychology is so large! I can wager a bet that you could apply Psychology to anything you are interested in. For example, if you are interested in computer & technology, you could study fields related to the Psychology of Technology. This could be applied to anything from Cognitive Science to Ergonomics.
So Why Become a Psychologist?
You most likely do not want to go through all the steps and hard work of becoming a Psychologist just because you have an interest in something Psychology could be applied to. No it must be more than that, so lets take a look at what would make a great Psychologist:
Reason Number One:
You should first ask yourself how you first became interested in Psychology? If you already are not interested in the field of Psychology, then you should be. You should have a general understanding of what Psychology is, the subfields of Psychology, and most importantly what a Psychologist is/does. To become a Psychologist you will have to dedicate allot of time to your education, training, volunteering etc. So make sure you know what you are getting into. Then if you ask yourself how you became interested in Psychology, then you can use this answer to determine whether you will have the drive and motivation to succeed as a Psychologist.
Reason Number Two:
If you answered reason one of how you first became interested in Psychology, then you should now ask yourself whether you want to work in field related to Psychology (example: Social Work, Marketing etc.) or whether you would like to register as a Psychologist in your jurisdiction (Clinical Psychologist, Research Psychologist etc.) If you have a strong interest in Psychology, this does not mean that you want to open/work in a practice in a counselling or therapist role, you may just have an interest in learning the ways in which people think, feel and act. You could mix this interest with something like business, and start a marketing career which would utilize both interests. If you would like to become a registered Psychologist, then you have to ask yourself the next question.
Reason Number Three:
So you want to become a registered Psychologist which can enable a career in Clinical, Research, or Potentially teaching as a Psychologist. Do you have a strong and genuine interest in helping others? Hopefully if you are wanting to register and become a Clinical Psychologist of some sort, you want to help your patients. You should want to help people, and be able to effectively listen to what they need or want from a Psychological professional. Being a Psychologist who has a distaste for helping others would be like a cook who hates to prepare a meal.
Reason Number Four:
In order to be effective at helping others seeking help from a Psychological Professional, would be to ask yourself if you are Emotionally Stable? How well do you know yourself? This does not mean that once in a while you feel depressed. This means that you know your self well enough, and are able to keep yourself in tact at all times. For example: You might believe that if you have ever visited a Psychologist yourself in the past that this would automatically exempt you from being a successful Psychologist. This could not be further from the truth, and could perhaps work to your benefit. This actually be a benefit as you were able to seek the help when you needed it showing you have no conundrums about seeking Psychological help, you have experienced the other end of the Psychological professional experience, and you have made the effort to keep yourself in emotional check.
Reason Number Five:
If you want to be a great Psychologist then you should ask yourself whether you are a Great Communicator with an Open Mind? Ask yourself this sincerely and honestly. You must be able to effectively communicate plans of action back to your patients so that you and your patient can understand what is going on, and going to happen as much as possible. You must also have an open mind that is able to adapt to any new scenarios without judging, or harming your client. This way you can help your patients without bias, as well Psychologists have a responsibility to follow a strong list of ethical standards.
Good Luck in Your Psychology Journey!
Hopefully you feel you would be a great Psychologists, and please I would be very interested in knowing how you became interested in Psychology. Tell your story and leave a comment. The beauty of Psychology is that it becomes clearer how unique every individual thinks, feels, and acts.
Tell your story and leave a comment below. Perhaps you could enlighten others to becoming a Psychologist!
i always wish i could b com a psychologyst bt education is nt organised in nigeria plz accept me
Hello Sandra,
I am glad to hear your interest in becomming a Psychologist, but sorry to hear about the un-organized education in Nigeria. I am unsure of the exact situation of Nigerian education but at the University of Nigeria they do have a department of psychology where you can recieve a B.Sc. Honours degree in psychology through a 3-4 year standard program. And as far as this reads, post graduate studies are available as well.
Good luck
Hi, great article!
I have become very intrigued with psychology; I want to know what makes people “tick”. I really liked that you said that having seen someone for professional help will in no way hinder my ability to become a psychologist.
I have suffered from serious depression since the age of 12 (I am now 21 next month), brought on by being severely injured and then post traumatic stress. I had both my legs amputated below the knee so it was a decent injury and I made a wild turn over to substance abuse. I have tamed my substance abuse down to a manageable level and will eventually taper off completely.
Although I am still depressed, I do not believe it would cause me to be any less of a psychologist. Even through my depression and trials with substance abuse I was able to maintain honours throughout school when I applied myself.
I believe that going through these incredible times and really truly experiencing darkness and despair will in fact better equip me to help others in the future. I think people are very close minded when they think that to be a great counseler, psychologist, therapist, etc. you have to have had a bright and healthy past. How could someone who has not been through some really tough times relate to someone who is?
Anyways some main reasons I want to become a psychologist are:
I am greatly dumbfounded by the complexity of human nature; nothing at all has left itself so unexplained to me before. Humans are very irrational, why?
I want to help others as well as help myself. I believe that I have the ability to do something great, not simply on a one on one basis in a counseling environment, but rather some breakthroughs farther into the field of psychology as it is vastly uncharted. I also believe that in a counseling environment, I could still learn immensely from my patients.
I desperately want people to start using their brains a little more. I can’t stand the voter turnout this past election. I asked fellow coworkers, family and friends why they didn’t vote, and got the same answers from all of them. They can’t make an educated decision, they don’t believe it’ll make a difference or they simply don’t care. Why? Why do people not care about anything that isn’t within ten feet of their nose? I think to get people to start to use their brains a little more, that learning about the brain and about how people think will better equip me to do so.
Sorry, I kinda went off on a rant there… Thanks for reading and thanks for writing too!
bman
Hey Brendan,
Thank you very much for sharing your story and what has influenced you to become interested in the world of Psychology. You have some great insight on what would make you and others a great Psychologist and I wholly agree with ” How could someone who has not been through some really tough times relate to someone who is?” And this can probably be one of the greatest barriers in Psychology today, because how do we ever really know what another person feels or thinks; especially if you have never experienced the same!
I really like your “rant” as you say, and I love to hear someone who constantly asks themselves why? It can be really confusing to me as well when people do not vote solely on the fact they will not make a difference as one individual. However if more people voted, more people would become involved, more people would become more politically educated, and henceforth have a more representative government.
Once again thank you for sharing, and I wish you luck in your breakthrough into Psychology!
Wow, marvelous blog layout! How long have you ever been running a blog for? you make running a blog look easy. The whole look of your website is great, well the content material!
My site is about Childhood depression.
Thanks, and very much appreciated. This blog in particular has not been active very long, but my hopes are to continue building this blog as an online resource for Canadian Psychology and related. Thank you for sharing you Childhood depression site and so far it looks great as well!
sir , i have done masters in psychology from India and i have also applied for PR of Canada. sir please tell me how can i get license to work in Canada as psychologist
Hey ruhi,
Congratulations on doing your Masters in Psychology in India. As for the becoming a psychologist in Canada, I am going to connect you with a very respectful and nice Psychologist from India, who like you wants to immigrate to Canada to continue practicing in Psychology. Her name is Madhoo, and you can connect with her in the forums located here – https://psychology-canada.ca/forum
She has been going through the processes of moving to Canada, and I am sure would be more than willing to help you with any questions you may have. The forums are still quite quiet and it has been only me and her on there at the moment, but you may want to read our thread as well.
Hi ! I am 13 turning 14 in two weeks, I know that seems a bit young to be here but here I am !! 🙂 I am stressing over my futur… I would love to become a psychologist but I also have a huge interest to be a doctor (at a hospital in the ER for example) I am very torn up about the choice that I have to make… I think being a psychologist would better suit me since I adore helping people and talking to them. I also have experienced being the patient ! I just really don’t want to regret my decision. Maths are not my force so that’s why im really hesitant to become a doctor since you do need to be quite good at math… Please help me in this decision 🙂
same girl! but im only in grade 10. i wanna take psychology next year but i dont wanna regret it. i dont think there is anyone active on this blog but. it sounds like psychology speaks to u more. you’re probably in grade nine so i suggest u ask ur teachers for this advice. specifically science. because thats a big part of both the mental health and medical field. good luck tho 🙂
Great article. It could be an extremely useful resource for schools/colleges/ universities in order to guide and support those who are thinking about a career in Psychology.
I am currently about to apply for Clinical Psychology Training in Britain for the first time. It is a very competitive profession and for various reason I was beginning to doubt whether I should keep persisting with a career in Psychology. Your article has given me a lot to think about, in a positive way. Such questions will help guide me to make an informed decision about what is best for me and my life goals. Many thanks for your words.
Thank you very much for your comments Anon, they are very much appreciated. I wish you the best of luck with whatever decision you choose and hope that you are happy whatever the choice.
Best of luck!
Hie
Am facing a decision i do not know how to go about it .and am running out of time.I mean which psychology route i should take. all i know is that i have a bcom degree in marketing from south africa ,now i want to study a Masters in Psychology .How do i do this .Because i feel marketing is a dimension of psycholgy itself and the two complement each other.So which route do i take?research psychology or clinical/counselling treatment psychology.I want to do this in canada?
Hi, I am an undergrad student without a declaration as of yet. I have become extremely interested and passionate about the field of health psychology. Nutrition and lifestyle has always been an area of interest and I know it is becoming a wider field in psychology. What kind of careers may be available and what education would be useful in this role? Is the area mostly focusing on research now or can you focus on a more clinical role? I want to get into a field that I am passionate about and enjoy but I don’t want to be unemployed after putting so much effort into school. And what role (if any) does kinesiology play? I guess I am looking for a bit of advice on the direction I should go. I love working with people, it makes me feel good to help people, and I appreciate the Bio-Psycho-Social approach psychology has to offer. I guess I just need more information so I can pick a direction to go in. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Hello
Iam doing my leaving cert next year and Iam hoping to get high marks to get into a college in Ireland-Limerick. Iam sure about becoming a Psychologist because I understand and help my friends whenever they seek for help. My problem is English is not my first language but I would like to study Psychology in English. Iam scared this could be a big problem for me. What do you think?
From an early age, I have always found that observing people and their actions, their words, the stance in which they stand and all of their nervousness and pride, personality and imperfections was my most favourite past time. I have always been told that I immediately “get people”, and notice that I myself am more of a listener than a talker, even if I have a lot to state regarding a subject. Naturally, I am unsure of why, I come to solutions regarding people’s concerns, even if they ask for none and am continuously studying my own behaviour, why I react certain ways and how to make my mood consistent. It’s embarassing to say, but when watching movies, I find myself watching the actors in their roles, trying to decipher what is acting and what is their personality, getting to know the character so that I am able to predict their next move; all of this done subconsciously, although it is entertaining to me, more so than following the plot.
Truly, I have the belief that if more people chose to be “in-tune” with each other, took the time to immerse themselves with other people, their personality and their thoughts, truly listened, then there may be a greater understanding of others and stronger bonds could be formed. We must all familiarize ourselves with the dynamic of any situation we find ourselves in before we are abe to truly thrive. And the repetition of social dynamics and situations is so clearly apparent. I am currently in my third year of design school, pursuing a degree in fashion design, however, am always questionable of whether psychology is my true calling. In any state, it will always be an interest,especially pychology research, and I may even attempt to submit some of my own thoughts on social dynamics to various publications in time, although whether they will be accepted without education in the field is questionable, although, without a doubt, my personal research has been ongoing for years.
Greetings!
I’m a highschool student and I have a colossal interest in the field of Psychology. After reading your article and question I thought back to when I started discovering psychology. I do believe I started developing an interest in Psychology when I was 12 years old. I was always mesmerized by someone’s odd behavior. I would observe people whenever I had the time. I would always ask myself why someone would do what they did.
By the age of 14 I started watching the T.V show Criminal Minds. This is when I started developing an interest in serial killers. Now for the past two years I’ve been studying them on my free time.
At the age of 15 I started studying psychological disorders after having to deal with a bully throughout middle school. In the begining of grade 7 he was really nice, but once he went through puberty near the end of grade 7 he changed dramatically. In grade 8 I noticed that he became cocky, self-centered, manipulative, and wanted attention 24-7. Basically he had arrogant behavior. All signs relating to Narassistic personality disorder. He was always trying to get on my nerves, which he did. I lost my temper after he harassed a girl in front a large crowd. I stood up for the girl, but that’s when he raged at me. So I yelled in his face and scared him. I think I broke some of his ago that day “chuckles”. It wasn’t till grade 10 I understood why he did the things he did. Now he doesn’t bother me at all. And now I actually observe him for my own educational purposes. I have discovered he has a germ phobia and insomia.
Obviously psychology is my favorite subject. So I’m appreciative that my highschool offers it as an elective. It’s the only class I would hate to get lower than 90% in. So I’ve managed to stay above 92% in it. What makes it even more cool is that there is a sociopath in my psych class. Another interesting person to study. He doesn’t like me very much, because he’s knows that I know he’s a sociopath and that he can’t manipulate me. However he acknowledges me and talks to me at times. After observing him this past year I’ve noticed his preferable gender to manipulate is female’s. Which makes me think that he lives with his mother and can easily manipulate her. He’s also rather intellectual and somewhat charming. He has openly admitted to some of my classmates that he doesn’t empathize with anyone. He also wants to go into politics and then someday become the prime minister of canada. He’s also invoked innapropiate sexual behavior on one of my friend’s. I fear that one day he will become a rapist.
I realize that it would be good to do some volunteer work. So this summer I hope to help out at a soup kitchen and have conversations with the hungry and homeless. I also would like to help out at my city’s local psych ward and drug & alcohol rehab center. I would really enjoy volunteering at those places.
To become a psychologist would be my dream come true! The issue is I don’t know what field to chose. I would love to become either a criminologist or a clinical psychologist. I love helping people and listening to them, yet I like researching abnormal behavior and comprehending why people are motivated to do things they do. I hope to get my masters in Psychology and my B.A in criminology.
Your article was fantastic by the way! It made me ponder on what would be the best psychology field to further study in. However, it’s still a tough choice between the two.
Have a wonderful day!
Sarah
I’m doing an English project and I need a poem or song about a drug addict or alcoholic recovering from their addiction because they have seen that they have a family to live for, they have something worth fighting for. I can’t for the life of me find any poems or songs like this,
though I’m sure they’re out there somewhere!
So if you guys could help me out, I would be forever grateful!
. . Thanks ever so much! ^^