I’m a psychology major and I love that I get to learn about something I’m passionate about. My classes are engaging and interesting. Plus, when I’m done with my undergraduate degree I’ll get to further my education and pursue the career of my dreams. There is a small downside to being a psych major, though. Usually when I tell people I’m a psych major I get asked the same eye roll worthy questions...
“Are you psycho-analyzing me right now?”
No, I am not. I can tell that you’re using humor as a defense mechanism because you don’t know how to relate to my major but that’s about it. Contrary to popular belief, psych majors don’t walk around with notebooks and pencils trying to eke out insight into your subconscious.
“Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?”
Notice that I said psychology, not psychic. I can’t read your mind.
“You know you can’t do anything with that degree, right?”
Thanks, Jeb Bush. While it is true that there aren’t many opportunities in the psychology field for people with only undergraduate degrees, it’s not true that it’s impossible to find jobs. Psychology is one of the most popular UG degrees but less than 25% of those students go on to grad school. A psychology major can get you a job in business, marketing, design, education, the military… Pretty much anywhere you could imagine. Clinical work and research after grad school are just a few of the many options available to psych students!
“That’s just a party degree, right?”
Like I said, psychology is one of the most popular degrees. There are people who choose psychology who also just want to party through school. But correlation does not equal causation! Most schools require psych majors to take multiple levels of statistics, at least two sciences (more with a BS), as well as all the other core requirements. You can’t get through higher level psychology classes like neurophysiology or psychopharmacology without a solid grasp of chemistry and anatomy. Psychology classes are hard work and require a lot of dedication.
“Isn’t that hard?”
For as many people that think my major is easy there are those from other majors that think it must be too hard (probably after taking a Psych 101). There’s a lot of reading and writing involved in my classes and yes, sometimes, it is hard. But I enjoy my classes and I’m genuinely interested in learning psychology which is what makes the work enjoyable. That doesn't mean I don't work my butt off, though.
“Can you help me with this problem I’ve been having?”
I’m nosy and love to hear other people’s business so sure, you can tell me what’s up. But just because I’m a psychology major doesn’t make me qualified to dish out treatments. Only licensed professional counselors (or other similar clinicians) are qualified to do that. Psychology majors definitely feel (and wish) we could just go out into the world and help everyone, but the truth is that most of us are many years (and degrees) away from that.
