The first response I get when I tell people I am majoring in Psychology is: "Oh, that's such an easy major, right?" Well, yes and no. I picked a major that I thoroughly enjoy learning about. I am terribly interested in almost everything I am learning, which yes, does make my major a little bit easier. Shouldn't that be what everyone says about their major? That being said, I learn A LOT in a very short amount of time.
Psychology is, reading research articles that use words you never knew existed, reading about research methods in which there's a million rules to follow, and reading about mental illnesses that can be incredibly taxing on yourself, but incredibly rewarding at the same time. My major is a science major, meaning I spend a lot of time doing research. I spend a lot of time learning about the parts of the brain and how they work, and what they are used for. Fun fact, most of the parts of your brain are doing multiple things at one time, so, this is a BUNCH to memorize (shout out to my Hippocampus for helping me along). Psychology is an extremely vast topic, meaning, undergraduate psychology majors need to learn many different types of human behavior, human experiences, and human processes. It's not like your general psychology class you took in high school. This major requires me to learn about child development, adolescence, cognitive development, biology, counseling techniques, mental illnesses, social behavior, relationships, statistics, etc. Not only do you kind of need to be a jack of all trades, but a lot of this can prove to be emotionally taxing, adding on to the stress of the actual school work. We also write A LOT. Research papers, case studies, content analysis, oh my!
As if that all isn't enough, if you are even CONSIDERING going to grad school (which is pretty much a must for this career), you have to join a lab. This means more work. Much like my undergraduate degree, I love my lab. I learn a lot about working in a fast-paced environment, to deal with issues quickly and on my own, and am researching some pretty cool stuff. But, I'd be lying if I said it was easy. On average I spend 11-12 hours in my lab a week. I run research projects, make code books, write for my labs blog, help in running social media accounts, and help develop new research. Most of this takes complex understanding of research methods, massive creativity, and incredible patience.
Moral of the story, Psychology is not the easiest major. The thing is, most people who are in Psychology are there because we love it. It's not going to make us rich and we know that, but, all of us want to make a difference. Pursuing this degree is the best decision I've made in my life. I know one day I'll be able to make a difference, even if it's just for one person. I can help make the world better, and don't we all want that? Psychology isn't easy, but it is so worth it. Oh! and no, we can't read your mind.
