Career Satisfaction Questions

[MariahAW1]

Hi. Im a senior in high school and i was always interested in helping people and had a knack for it.
i just have some questions as to how happy you are at your job to see if i would be interested in this field.

1.) When did you find out that you wanted to have this job?
2.) What is the best part of your job?
3.) What is the worst part of your job?
4.) Are you happy?
5.) What were your other backup career interests?
6.) Through all you went through to get to your career, was it worth it in the end?

Thank you so much!
-MariahAW1

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[Therapist4Chnge]

Mariah,

Welcome to SDN.

Typically we don't allow for surveys per se, but if you are looking for some feedback on your questions, that is fine. I have to run, but I may give my 2 cents when I have a bit more time.

 

[BorntoRun]

Hi Mariah,

An important thing to know is that this is a forum for students. So, many of us are graduate students (plus lots of people applying to grad school and some undergrads), and we aren't yet doing the "job" we'll be doing once we graduate.

That said, I'm happy. Most people don't end up pursuing graduate school in clinical psychology (especially Ph.D. programs) unless they're quite sure it's what they want to do. That's something you really only find out from experience, like (at first) volunteering with clinical populations, doing some research work, taking some classes, that sort of thing. If you think you might be interested, an intro psychology class in college would be worth your time!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

1.) When did you find out that you wanted to have this job?
2.) What is the best part of your job?
3.) What is the worst part of your job?
4.) Are you happy?
5.) What were your other backup career interests?
6.) Through all you went through to get to your career, was it worth it in the end?

I'm just a grad student too, but I'll answer anyway.

1) When I was in Grade 8 the idea came to me. When I was in 2nd year University it became something I decided to do.

2) The challenges, the potential to witness someone's positive change as well.

3) The fact that it's difficult to leave work at work.

4) Yes.

5) My backups were music (either performance or education) or med school.

6) Absolutely worth it, can't imagine doing anything else.

 

[Ollie123]

1.) When did you find out that you wanted to have this job?
2.) What is the best part of your job?
3.) What is the worst part of your job?
4.) Are you happy?
5.) What were your other backup career interests?
6.) Through all you went through to get to your career, was it worth it in the end?
-MariahAW1

1) 2nd year of college
2) The variety - I have to learn everything from rapport-building in clinical settings to electricity and circuits. I never could decide what I liked the most, so I think I just went for a career where I wouldn't have to
3) In a word....bureaucracy.
4) Incredibly so
5) When I graduated I probably could have gone towards psychology, or towards corporate law and the finance sector. It would have required a bit more work but computer science/engineering was also something I'd have considered. Same with medicine though I'd definitely have done academic medicine - purely clinical work holds zero interest for me.
6) I'll tell you after I'm tenured. I can tell you I haven't regretted anything so far

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I'm a 5th year, so I'm towards the end of training, but not licensed yet.

1.) When did you find out that you wanted to have this job?
In high school I was interested, though it took me a number of classes in college and some experience doing research to be sure.

2.) What is the best part of your job?
I love learning, and every day I learn something new. I am able to help people make some meaningful changes in their lives, while also enjoying what I do. It is nice to help others, but the job is about a lot more than that, which is why it is important to talk to people in the field.

3.) What is the worst part of your job?
It is A LOT of work and time. It can be stressful, but if it is what you want to do....you find a way to get it done. You also will have no money until you get licensed.....but you can make a decent living, depending on how much time/work you put in.

4.) Are you happy?
On most days. Put it this way, on more days than not I am happy with where I am and I look forward to getting up and getting to work, which is more than most people can say.

5.) What were your other backup career interests?
I was in the business consulting world...it offered everything ($, stability, growth, etc) but satisfaction for me. Medicine was my backup if I didn't get into a clinical program. I love the academic side of the brain and body, though the day to day stuff was less appealing. I can do more of what I want with this route than that route....so I'm happy.

6.) Through all you went through to get to your career, was it worth it in the end?
I'm still working on it, but so far it has been. The only regret I have is not taking enough time to really find the best fit for me. I've received good training and the program is decent enough, but I think I missed out on some schools that could have been great.

 

[biogirl215]

Just curious, T4C, what did you find lacking in your program? Did last year's match affect your opinion?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Just curious, T4C, what did you find lacking in your program? Did last year's match affect your opinion?

1. I thought the clinical training is/was very good. The faculty is great, the administration.....no comment.
2. Obviously funding is an issue, probably my biggest concern....considering they should have better funding by now.
3. I love the access to faculty and being able to work with some great people, but they need to cut down on the cohort, because it will help improve top to bottom performance.
4. Training experiences are good, excellent supervision, and from what I've been told from some TDs...NSU interns are very well prepared for internship.
5. Speaking of internship, the placement rate tends to be good, and my only real complaint involves the less than ideal process they have for internship. It is better than some programs, worse than others.
6. They have some teaching options in the undergrad, but the process needs to be more formalized. I'm part of trying to get that to happen, but it should have happened a long time ago.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Jon...you are coming off as normal and relatively well adjusted....I'm shocked!! Your career options were very similar to mine, I looked into pretty much the same areas, and the feedback from the lawyers pretty much sealed the deal on that avenue.

 

[PsyDr]

1) a family friend was a psychologist. i was interested. hired to work as a psychometrician after undergrad. i messed up on some tests i administered to a kid. psychologists dx'ed him as autistic, when in truth he had a fatal genetic disease. I spent 8 hrs a day taking care of him until he died. promised myself i would never miss something like that again and sought the appropriate training.

2)

a. i make a very good money.
b. i make my own hours
c. i can obsessively test the hell out of people for the aforementioned reasons.
d. i get to read tons of very cool things.
e. i get to go to fun places, which i then only see from the inside of a hotel conference room.
f. at least some people sometimes recognize me as an expert in a few things. and occassionally they are right-ish.
g. my secretary is freaking awesome
h. sometimes women dig the title.
i. i can generally dress however i want when i am not seeing patients.

3)

a. insurance. listening to their logic is a constant lesson in maintaining.
b. trying to help people who do not want your help. getting told to go to hell on a regular basis by a wide assortment of people is pretty terrible.
c. telling people their loved one has dementia/impaired cognitive functioning/lost the ability to drive/is not a genius/etc. seriously not fun
d. after telling people what your findings are, having them tell you that you don't know what you are talking about. even after you bring them around and they tearfully thank you, the first part sucks.
e. people demanding your services right now but not wanting to pay for them. even nominal sums (e.g., $5/week for therapy, not a co-pay).
f. dry spells in private practice. no patients= no money. kinda hard to maintain when you made $0 this week. even if you made tons of money last week/month.
g. having to run to the hospital all the damn time. nights, weekends, etc. try explaining that to any significant other. they usually get tired of it. as do family members.
h. having to decide between making more money and having less free time or taking on another partner and losing out on said monies.
i. dictating. seriously it never ends. nights, weekends. you start wondering about how crazy you look to anyone who can see into your condo, all pacing back and forth talking into your dictaphone alone. you wonder if they called 911 and had you taken to the hospital if the attending would admit you just to get more work done (j/k).


4) Depends on the day. Usually the answer is hells no for the aforementioned reasons, a lot of which revolve around my personality and money. But every blue moon or so someone actually truthfully thanks you, even when you have told them horrible news. happened today in fact.

5) Before all this i ran my own business.

6) Financially there is no way it was worth it for most people. A BA engineering major makes roughly what a psychologist makes starting out. Add in 6 years in which they make money while doctoral psychology students do not. uh oh. Emotionally, there are some days it is very much worth everything i did. today being one of them.

 

[biogirl215]

Obviously funding is an issue, probably my biggest concern....considering they should have better funding by now.

Thanks, T4C... Just to clarify, do you mean "should have" as in "I think they have..." or "should have" as in "this needs to be done"?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Thanks, T4C... Just to clarify, do you mean "should have" as in "I think they have..." or "should have" as in "this needs to be done"?

This needs to be done. They have some funding, but they should put a greater emphasis on securing larger grants. In the last 2 years they brought on a couple of faculty that will help with this, but IMHO they need to do more.

 

[BellaPsyD]

I love reading the answers to this thread! Keep 'em coming !

 

[biogirl215]

This needs to be done. They have some funding, but they should put a greater emphasis on securing larger grants. In the last 2 years they brought on a couple of faculty that will help with this, but IMHO they need to do more.

This may be veering off-topic, but is this the problem with PsyD funding--funding comes from research grants, so less emphasis on research=less grants=less funding? What about TAships and the what not? Do those come into play at PsyD. programs? On that note, I think Nova has a clinical PhD as well (and I'm surprised you're PsyD, T4C, seeing how much background and interest you have in research!)--do they have more funding?

 

[psychwanabe]

1.) When did you find out that you wanted to have this job?
2.) What is the best part of your job?
3.) What is the worst part of your job?
4.) Are you happy?
5.) What were your other backup career interests?
6.) Through all you went through to get to your career, was it worth it in the end?

I love answering these questions because I am SO happy in my practicum right now. I am a 2nd year graduate student, so here's my $.02:

1. When I started volunteering as an advocate for abused kids. I saw the need for psychologists to work with that population and said "why not me?"
2. The best part is connecting with kids. I love taking a sullen, resistant adolescent into a room and getting them to open up to me. I like knowing how to listen, and listen well and in such a way that makes them feel better after they leave. Oddly enough, I also enjoy assessment, but that may change after IQ test #1000.
3. Right now the worst part is lack of time and the frustration of getting through school so that I can work, for real, full-time. That said, I'm not putting in as many hours this year as last fall semester - about 60 a week compared to 70+ last year.
4. By and large, I am blissfully happy. Starting the practicum this year is what clicked it all in to place for me. I am in the right place, doing the right thing, AND I'm good at it!!
5. The only thing I really wanted to do was be a stay-at-home Mom and I did that first and then went to college. Prior to considering psychology though, I also considered being an attorney (for kids), or a social worker.
6. I'm not at the end, so that's hard to answer, but right now it feels like it will be well worth it.

 

[mshbe]

This may be veering off-topic, but is this the problem with PsyD funding--funding comes from research grants, so less emphasis on research=less grants=less funding? What about TAships and the what not? Do those come into play at PsyD. programs? On that note, I think Nova has a clinical PhD as well (and I'm surprised you're PsyD, T4C, seeing how much background and interest you have in research!)--do they have more funding?

Neither the PhDs nor the PsyDs are funded at Nova. Depending on which faculty you're doing your research practicum with, there are some opportunities for a little bit of funding, but that is also minimal. And those opportunities can be available to PsyDs as well.

I have heard that they are working on getting better funding. Not sure if this is true, or how long it would take. T4C would probably know more about that.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

...(and I'm surprised you're PsyD, T4C, seeing how much background and interest you have in research!)

In retrospect I should have gone to a Ph.D. program, but I didn't know about most of the balanced programs out there (pre-SDN)....whoops. I've been able to get some pretty good training, so I can tailor it to what I want to do.

To tie this back into the topic.....

Satisfaction with a career generally comes down to knowing what you want to do, and being able to figure out how to get paid doing it. I've been able to find a few things that interest me, and I'm trying to mold that into a career. I think people sometimes get stuck in a rut doing their "thing" (assessments, therapy, etc) and they get bored and/or burned out. The nice thing about psychology is that a person can really diversify their experience and keep it fresh.

 

[psychmama]

Hi. Im a senior in high school and i was always interested in helping people and had a knack for it.
i just have some questions as to how happy you are at your job to see if i would be interested in this field.

1.) When did you find out that you wanted to have this job?
2.) What is the best part of your job?
3.) What is the worst part of your job?
4.) Are you happy?
5.) What were your other backup career interests?
6.) Through all you went through to get to your career, was it worth it in the end?

Thank you so much!
-MariahAW1

1) When I was in my mid-thirties, after 10 years working as a lawyer and having 3 kids.
2) The satisfaction in connecting with people and making a real difference in their lives. Also, never being bored and learning new things every day. People are fascinating!
3) The workload is heavy, and the emotional stress can take its toll, especially if you're a therapist. But-- you learn how to deal with that and to take care of yourself in grad school. It's very important.
4) Very happy.
5) As mentioned, I was a labor and employment lawyer before this. Backup fields would probably be teaching or medicine.
6) So far, yes definitely. No regrets, even though it was hard to change careers with a family to support and stay involved with. I think it's made me a better mom.

Best of luck to you!