Career Options in Psychology

Introduction

            In the modern times the psychology has become most sought after discipline. The major reason for this is its applicability and usage in almost every nook & corner of human being. Secondly it adopts the scientific approach that follows all necessary steps of enquiry such as formation of hypothesis, testing of hypothesis, controlling, objective data collection, data analysis, understanding and drawing conclusion, replication of results, prediction etc. In every field where human is involved psychology is involved. Hence, the scope of psychology is growing exponentially. And increasing career options too.

Few Career Options:

1.         Education,

2.         Counseling and Guidance,

3.         Clinical,

4.         Industry,

5.         Legal and Crime,

6.         Social,

7.         Military,

8.         Sports,

9.         Psychotherapist,

10.       Psychometrics, and

11.       Forensic.

1.         Education – Teacher in schools, colleges and Universities after MA, MSc, M Phil, PhD, NET.

2.         Counselling and Guidance – Adopting ‘talking cure’ as a tool to solve personal, social, educational, marital, and professional problems. They work with parents, teachers and students to foster learning, address school-related problems and promote a safe educational environment.

3.         Clinical – Clinical psychologists work to prevent, diagnose and treat mental disorders. These psychologists typically have their own clinics and perform diagnostics. They also work alongside doctors to determine the best course of treatment for patients.

4.         Industry – Industrial–Organizational psychologists work with business establishments to maintain a high-quality work environment. They talk with employees to help them with their problems, screening applicants and training new hires.

5.         Legal and Crime – Legal psychologists conduct interviews or administers psychological tests to individuals facing criminal or civil charges. They also work with witnesses to help them recall information or serve as jury consultants in law enforcement investigations to construct fair and balanced trial. They research to improve the legal system.

6.         Social – Social psychologists examine behavioural trends in society. They tend advice on leadership, group behaviour and attitude etc. They use their findings to influence advertisements and related fields.

7.         Military – The military psychologists focus on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders of military personnel and offer therapeutic services, such as counseling and training. Military psychologists explore how different personality types are suited for defence needs, how to improve the treatment of PTSD, or how to help military personnel to cope up with stress.

8.         Sports – Sport psychologists help athletes to enhance their sports performance, devise various mental strategies, such as visualization, self-talk and relaxation techniques, that offer crucial help to athletes overcome obstacles and achieve their optimal potential. They help sport persons in development of coping mechanism to deal with competition anxiety and stress.  They also play the role of fitness counsellor.

9.         Psychotherapist – They offer a range of treatments (Client-Cantered Therapy, Music therapy, CBT, Existential Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, and Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy etc.) to deal with emotional challenges and various psychological disorders. They strive to enable clients to understand their feelings, and what makes them feel positive, anxious, or depressed.

10.       Psychometrics – The psychologists engaged in psychometrics study theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits. The field is primarily concerned with the study of differences between individuals.

11.       Forensic – Forensic psychologists work with law-enforcement agencies and act as experts in various legal cases. They focus on assessing competency, working with child witnesses and performing psychological evaluations.

References:

1.         https://study.com/psychologist.html.

2.         NCERT, XI Psychology Text book.

3.         https://www.apa.org/topics/law/index.aspx.

4.         https://www.psychologyschoolguide.net/ psychology-careers/military-psychologist/.

5.         https://www.psychologyschoolguide.net/psychology-careers/military-psychologist/

6.         https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sport-psychologists.aspx