PhD/PsyD Is It Healthy to have doubts about the future

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

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Hello Everyone,

Just curious would you all consider it healthy to have some minor doubts about the future? Doubts like "am I pursing the right area of psychology?" and "is it worth it spending 5 or more years after undergrad to pursue a advanced degree while my friends will be having a nice paying job after 2 years out of school?" I sometimes have these doubts and just wondering if its normal to have these doubts while pursing undergrad

 

[WisNeuro]

I'd be worried about someone who did not have these doubts. These aren't minor considerations.

 

[psych844]

Of course. Life is stress, and the process of becoming a Psychologist is stress, and stress has a way of testing us and making us question if what we are doing is good for us. Heck, you see people who are close to the end of their journey (internship/post-doc) having doubts..but a lot of those doubts are just from the natural stress response, and these people finish and then end up having successful and fulfilling careers.

The best you can do is plan, educate yourself, and make sure you are making informed decisions. The only people that I'd worry about are the people that aren't informed, that rush into things, and in these cases the doubts are about really poor decision making and planning, and the stress that comes with that, and little to do with natural stress that we all face when we are pushed to our limits.

 

[PsyDr]

Only fools and zealots lack doubt.