Online Psychology Degrees A Degree and Career in Psychology

Career Options For Online Psychology Degrees

Humans have lived on this earth for thousands of years, but the field of psychology is only about 125 years old. It is thus a strange irony that this extremely complex and critical study and assessment of human behavior be so young in comparison.

Human life has truly been filled with so many problems that you would think that we would have seen the need for psychologists much earlier in human history. Thankfully, the field of psychology does indeed exist now and with many sub fields. Psychology has been described as the study, research and analysis of two critical relationships, the first being that of brain function and behavior and the second is that of environment and behavior.

Basically, psychologists help people deal with problems in everyday life, traumas associated with illness and injury and mental and emotional disorders. If you find yourself very interested and concerned with other people's problems, you might enjoy working as a psychologists.

Psychologists need to be compassionate and good listeners. They also must possess a certain amount of creativity, because knowing what someone's problem is simply isn't enough. To be a good psychologist, you must discern the best way to motivate them. You must know and create the right questions to ask, so that the patient will many times come to the right conclusion on their own. This type of therapy is more powerful than simply telling them what to do.

Associates Degree in Psychology

Within the field of psychology there are many career possibilities because a number of different types of jobs require psychology skills. Take for example, a career in sales. Having an Associate's Degree in Psychology will be excellent preparation for this job because if you learn how people think and react to different types of sales presentations as well as learning how to read people's body language and other psychological signals, this will greatly improve your selling ability.

Also, if you plan to work in the Federal Government, an Associate's Degree in Psychology is all that is needed to gain employment in an entry-level position. In fact, most employers place high value on any psychology education and skills you possess because these can be very beneficial when it comes to data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Bachelor's Degree in Psychology

If you obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, you could become a social worker which is a related psychology field. This degree would also prepare you to be a psychologist's assistant or an assistant to other types of professionals in mental health centers or correctional programs. If you have earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, you could also work as a research assistant for a psychologist. Some of these types of positions may require a Master's Degree in Psychology depending on what organization hires you.

Doctorate Degree in Psychology

Furthering your education to the point of obtaining a Doctorate Degree in Psychology will qualify you for a number of positions in the field of psychology. You could become a Clinical Psychologist, both for children and adults, which are actually two separate fields in the study of psychological disturbances.

Career Choices in Psychology

The list of psychology career choices is long starting with Cognitive Psychologist, which is the study of what we know and how we come to know it. Counseling Psychologists are concerned with counseling, teaching and consulting research and Developmental Psychologists study growth and development from conception in the womb until death.

Educational Psychologist

Educational Psychologists research the activities involved in education and training and the main job of an Engineering Psychologist is to study and design improvements where people live and work and otherwise interact with each other. A very interesting field of psychology is the Medical Psychologist, because this field studies how our mental state can actually affect our physical health.

School Psychologist

Another psychology career option if you enjoy working with children might be a School Psychologist because in this field you will be working closely with schools to assess and improve the effectiveness of educating children with intellectual, social and emotional problems.

With this choice as your goal, you will need a Ph.D. in Psychology. With this degree, you may also wish to eventually set up a private practice as a Self-Employed Psychologists. All of these degree types can be obtained through online degree courses by an accredited school.

The Benefits of Online Training

The benefits of online training and degree education is becoming widely known and accepted. Many accredited colleges and universities nationwide now offer online classes and degrees as a standard policy.

The convenience of studying and testing when your schedule allows the time for it, is one of the main reasons for its success. With online courses, you never to worry about whether or not a particular class will be cancelled due to a low number of registrations.

The Study of Psychology

The study of psychology includes human development, perception, cognition, mental functions and behavior, emotion and personality. You will learn how to apply this information in the areas of sports, health, media, industry and law. When you enroll in classes to become a psychologist, the core curriculum will consist of the following subjects to be covered.

Communication as the study of the processes of perception, motivation, learning, memory, and creativity within the roles of social environments for the purpose of exploring how people communicate to other individuals, through mass communication, within small and large groups and across different cultures.

Social and Behavioral Sciences in psychology will teach the basic principles that human seem to adapt to in their behavior with regard to their ever changing physical and social environments.

Humanities and Fine Arts will discuss and research the ability to interpret and argue on the subjects of the nature of reasoning, the nature of language, critical thinking and ethical theory. Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning will help students to learn the use and evaluation of quantitative or statistical information in a principled manner with regard to proving arguments.

And finally, Science as it pertains to the study, research and assessment of human behavior and the biological effects of that behavior on the human body. You will also be required to take psychology major subjects like Introductory to Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Research Design and Analysis and Experimental Projects in Psychology.

Job Growth in the Field of Psychology

There were over 166,000 psychologists employed in 2006 with a projected growth of 15% by 2012. That anticipated growth is greater than many other fields. So, if this field appeals to you, there will be many opportunities waiting for you when you reach your educational goals and degrees in psychology.

Resources:  

The American Psychological Association

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Psychology

Wiki Page on Psychology