I have a BS in Business but I may be changing careers. What type of edu is needed to become a psychologist?

I would like information on becoming a psychologist? Do I need a Masters or a PHD. How many years will it take to earn my degree/s? What type of work should I be doing currenlty? How is the job market?I have a BS in Business but I may be changing careers. What type of edu is needed to become a psychologist?
To become a psychologist you will have to get either a PhD, PsyD, or EdD.



It's really important to ask yourself a few basic questions before deciding that this is what you want to do. For example, the 1 most important question to ask yourself is what type of job you'd like to have. Do you want to be a therapist? Or do you want to be a researcher? Are you interested in clinical work? Or do your interests lie in another aspect of psychology (developmental psychology vs. social psychology vs. neuropsychology vs. industrial psychology, etc.).



Many people who are interested in psychology initially want to be practicing therapists. Therefore, I'll assume that you're interested in clinical work for the first part of my response.



If you are interested in being a therapist, becoming a psychologist is not the best or most efficient option for the following reasons: (1) It is incredibly difficult to get into doctoral programs in clinical psychology. The average PhD program accepts approximately 4-7% of the applicants, which means that it's harder to get into the average PhD program in clinical psychology than it is to get into medical school. PsyD and EdD programs are somewhat easier to get into, but, on average, PsyD and EdD psychologists have a harder time passing the licensing exam than PhD psychologists and they also have a harder time getting an APA approved internship than PhD psychologists. The internship is a prerequisite for licensure, so it would be unfortunate to go through 4-6 years of school and then not even be about to get a license. (2) Regarding admission to doctoral programs in psychology, an applicant does not have to have an undergrad major in psychology but many schools do require both the GRE and the GRE subject test in psychology. It is rather difficult to get a competitive score on the subject test without a background in psychology. Furthermore, research experience in some sort of social science discipline is absolutely essential for admission to a PhD program. Again, it's hard to get this experience without some type of background in the field. (3) The PhD degree is a research-based degree and most schools prepare PhD candidates to become researchers first and then practitioners. Therefore, unless you're highly interested in research then you will be spending a long time (4-6 years) engaged in research that might not be particularly interesting. (4) In order to be a licensed therapist, a person does not have to have be a psychologist. Rather, it's possible to work as a therapist after completing a masters degree in social work and becoming a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). It's also possible to become a licensed professional counselor (LPC) after receiving a masters degree in clinical or counseling psychology. Both programs are far easier to get into than PhD programs; both programs take less time to complete than PhD programs; and both programs are less research-focused than PhD programs. Furthermore, it's possible to get an MD and complete a residency in psychiatry. Although medical school is not easy to get into, it's easier than some PhD programs so it's not an entirely bad option. (5) There is essentially no difference in treatment outcome among people treated by psychologists, social workers, or masters-level therapists.



All of the preceding information was based on the assumption that you want to be a practicing therapist. If that's NOT the case and if you are interested in psychological research, then the PhD in psychology is the best way to go. Again, PhD programs in clinical psychology are extremely hard to get into, but if you're interested in research all of the work is really worth the effort. Furthermore, programs in social psychology, developmental psychology, human factors psychology, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, etc. are much easier to get into than clinical programs.



In short, being a psychologist is a wonderful profession BUT it's a lot different than what people think it's like. Of course, many psychologists do work as therapists, but if that's all you're interested in there are much easier ways of going about achieving the goal. If you really do want to be a psychologist then it's definitely worth pursuing, but it's hard.



For more information about admission to PhD clinical psychology programs, you might find the following site interesting: http://www.psywww.com/tipsheet/applyphd.I have a BS in Business but I may be changing careers. What type of edu is needed to become a psychologist?
The above answer couldn't have said it any better... If you REALLY want a Ph.D. in Psychology then you better buckle down. I will be applying to some Clinical Psych. and School Psych. doctorate programs and I extremely nervous even though I have a 4.0 and got an okay score on the GRE (Q+V = 1260)... The competition is intense, especially for clinical and counseling grad programs - so be ready! Masters programs are MUCH less competitive and will train you to be a practitioner rather than a researcher. Do some soul searching and decide what area of psychology you enjoy and decide if either a masters or doctorate will help you reach your goals .