Aspiring Psychology Student

[jbaez]

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I'm new to this site, found it while searching for psychology forums. All of the information on here seems very helpful and informative.

I am a junior in high school (California) and plan to major in psychology during college. My ultimate goals include:
- Obtaining Ph.D
- Getting a job with an average annual salary of about $70,000

Although I have been doing research on occupations, I am still very much confused with the job opportunities relating to psychology. So, I have a few questions.
- Are my financial goals realistic?
- Are there federal government jobs available to clinical psychologists?
- My writing and critical reading skills, according to my teachers, are excellent. However, I am a horrible chemistry student. The same goes for calculus. I can excel in both, but I absolutely dread the subjects. Will this effect my goals? Also, are there any fields with occupations I can pursue that combinine psychology and writing?

If similar questions have been asked on the forums before, I apologize. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Terpskins99]

I am a junior in high school (California) and plan to major in psychology during college. My ultimate goals include:
- Obtaining Ph.D
- Getting a job with an average annual salary of about $70,000

Although I have been doing research on occupations, I am still very much confused with the job opportunities relating to psychology. So, I have a few questions.
- Are my financial goals realistic?
- Are there federal government jobs available to clinical psychologists?
- My writing and critical reading skills, according to my teachers, are excellent. However, I am a horrible chemistry student. The same goes for calculus. I can excel in both, but I absolutely dread the subjects. Will this effect my goals? Also, are there any fields with occupations I can pursue that combinine psychology and writing?

Financial goals seem in line with the national average.
Payscale.com estimates clinical psychologists make $63,935/yr
MDSalaries.com estimates $75,000/yr
Salary.com is even more generous with $77,799/yr

I am not at all an expert with regard to careers in psychology... but I know that the Armed forces and the FBI actively recruit people with training in behavioral sciences.

I'm not even sure if you would be required to take a chemistry or a calculus course to complete a Psychology undergraduate degree. Its probably school-specific. UC Davis doesn't require either to finish with a Psych BA degree (though you do in order to be qualified to obtain the BS degree). I personally feel that a BS would help more towards obtaining admission to a PhD program. Regardless, as long as you know you can get through chemistry and calculus with the proper preparation, then I wouldn't sweat it if you have to take them. You'd get them over with in the 1st year of college and thats it.

Other jobs? I think law school is a good option. Certainly medical school if you take the appropriate pre-requisite courses (ever consider psychiatry?). I think strong psych/english majors can transition relatively well into certain business fields (e.g. marketing and advertising). Just be creative.