Psychological Science Degree

Have you found that you are both interested in the world of science and the world of psychology? Does how the mind works intrigue you and make you want to investigate it further? As a psychological scientist, you can tackle both aspects of your professional dreams. In a job position of a psychological scientist you will be involved in many different aspects of research, each that work to uncover how the mind actually works. For instance, you may find yourself studying how individuals with learning disabilities sleep during the night, how different parts of the human brain work, and how people perceive the passage of time and techniques or methods that will allow this perception to be altered.

As a psychological scientist it will be possible for you to seek employment in many different venues. For instance, you could work in fields such as: education, government, business, design, communications, engineering, health, law, human services, safety and transportation, and public policy.

In order to prepare for your career as a psychological scientist you will want to complete your undergraduate degree program, followed by a doctor of psychology degree or a PhD in a psychology related field of study. In addition, you will also want to become certified and licensed so that you may practice as a psychological scientist. Ideally, your knowledge, training, and skills will make it possible for you to conduct extensive psychological related research or to have a career in the midst of the world of psychology. Generally speaking, during your education you will choose focus areas for your elective courses that will allow you to be prepared to enter a specific area within psychology. For instance, you could choose to emphasize on health psychology, intergroup relations, social cognition, organizational psychology, developmental disorders, family processes, attitudes, or industrial psychology.

Upon completion of your educational training you will be able to seek employment in many psychology related areas. For instance, you could work in clinical neuropsychology, clinical psychology, organizational psychology, sports psychology, educational psychology, or research or academic psychology. In addition, there are many other avenues of employment that will allow you to utilize your psychological training without working in the world of psychology. Of course, you will want to choose an area of emphasis that best fits your intended goals and professional aspirations. Keep in mind, you will want to be sure that you choose an educational institution that is accredited so that you can become a qualified, licensed psychological scientist.

In your role as a psychological scientist it will be important that you have a strong ability to communicate with your variety of audiences regarding many different levels of psychologically related topics. You should also be able to practice both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis for a given set of data; you will need to know how to test the validity of psychological theories in order to answer specific research based questions related to psychology.

You must also be well-versed regarding the methods with which contemporary psychology has the capability of being applied to the treatment or management of the issues that humans deal with. In this profession it will be very important that you have a significant amount of respect for your patients in the areas of ability, gender, human rights, ethnic backgrounds, religious backgrounds, and age. Furthermore, you must have the ability to be sensitive to your patients regarding ethical or cultural issues that can impact how the psychological factors may be interpreted or applied. Lastly, since you will need to use the theories of past psychologists, it will be important for you to respect the works of these prior individuals.