Being a Psychologist 🧠… Is it Glamorous?

So you can read my mind🧠? Can you psycho-analyse this person? So is this person crazy?

Is being a Psychologist really as cool as people imagine it to be?

The short answer would be: Definitely not 😕. Here are 5 thoughts/tips I’ve gathered along the way.

1️⃣ The Salary 💸

In all honesty, the pay isn’t the biggest turn off for me but if you’re doing it for money 💰💰, please look for another career. I would say in the public sector, if you’re comparing to your peers in finance and IT, you won’t be on par (at least from my experience). The public sector offers a stable salary with decent bonuses but not a very high monthly salary. Again high and low is relative and you can search NCSS guidelines for the salary ranges. And if you’re thinking “oh but I want to go into the private sector”, if you’re an associate without a masters, the private sector pays worse and they have less bonus (at least from what I’ve heard and when comparing).

2️⃣ Public VS Private

I think people often have the impression oh psychologists and therapists make so much money they charge $200/hour. Now though that is true, I would say this happens only after 10-15 years in the industry and not for the majority. When you are just starting out, without any masters or experience, an associate psychologist does not get paid very much in the private sector. I believe that foundation and training is extremely important in the beginning. Most public organisations have such a structure and trainings but unfortunately not all the private centres provide training and supervision. I’ve also heard some psychologists needing to pay for the courses they attend. So please weigh the pros and cons when deciding to join the public or private sector.

3️⃣ Which sector do you go into?

Now there are many sectors in Psychology. The most popular being clinical, but you have educational, counselling, health, forensic, developmental, research, organisational and many more. Please think about what population and age group 👶🏽👧👴🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 you would like to serve first. This will narrow down what internships and experiences you can search for, making your resume a lot more focused, increasing your chances of getting an associate job.

4️⃣ The Masters Bottleneck

Now this is one of the major reasons I might regret choosing this path. The entry into a Masters programme in Singapore is extremely EXTREMELY competitive. In Singapore you need at least 2 years working experience and a 2:1 grade to get in. Every year they take in approximately 20-25 students and thousands apply. In Australia, the chances are as slim, because each university only takes in a handful of international students. In the UK, to be accredited, you would have to complete a Doctorate (3 years). If you do a one year masters in the UK it would not be BPS accredited. PLEASE CHECK if the masters programme is BPS accredited.

❗️If you did your undergraduate studies in the UK please note that you will need to do an additional post-graduate diploma year to apply for a Masters in Australia as Australia and SG does 4 years undergrad but UK does 3 (at least that was the issue I faced).

5️⃣ The Burnout❤️‍🔥

Being in a helping profession demands a lot out of you mentally and sometimes physically. The turnover rate in this industry is pretty high as you’re often loaded with the burdens and emotions of others. As a Psychologist in such sectors you need to be able to separate work and personal life and let go of whatever that was shared with you. Now this is definitely easier said then done. I have confided in people sharing my burnout, only to be met with “oh but you knew this line is difficult”. It’s as though it’s expected that you are already prepared to take on the physical and mental strain this job entails. Though this is not fair, it is sadly true. If you wish to sustain long-term and be consistently efficient in your work then you do need to be prepared. If it does get too much, please seek help for yourself as well!

Even the most passionate people I knew left this industry due to the many setbacks. I believe that if we all entered with our eyes wide open we would be able to make better decisions for ourself.

Now despite what I’ve rattled on about above, I’m still pursuing this line because the passion I have for those I work with. Each time I can make a difference, it’s a feeling like no other and that’s the privilege I get for choosing this industry. It’s not for everyone but if this is something you’re sure about then it’s a rewarding and fulfilling career to consider ❤️❤️. So I guess it just takes 1 positive to outweigh all the other negatives for me😬.

#BeReal #RealTalk #psychology #CareerTips