Disadvantages of a Psychology Career

Advantages of a Psychology Career

For those who are interested in a psychology career, there are many advantages that they can look forward to. Psychologists can experience the fulfillment of the helping others, enjoy a high earning potential, can learn about people and how they think, and may have quite a bit of variety in their work.

Some people go into psychology wanting to help people, and a psychology career is an excellent means to find that fulfillment and satisfaction. Even at an otherwise routine appointment, there is an opportunity to help a person solely by listening. For some, this simple act can make an enormous difference, especially if they believe there is no one else willing to listen to their stories. There are some specialties or divisions of psychology where the act of helping is more overt, such as is the case for clinical psychology, but all psychologists have daily opportunities to feel fulfillment from helping their patients, including those in research settings.

One of the major advantages of a psychology career is the high earning potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for psychologists in clinical, counseling, and school settings was $64,140 in 2008. Those earning the highest 10 percent in these divisions commanded salaries over $100,000. For individuals practicing in the I-O division, even higher salaries are available. The median income for these psychologists was $77,010 in 2008, and the highest 10 percent of earners had salaries close to $150,000.

Individuals who go into the field of psychology typically have a natural curiosity about human behavior in addition to a desire to help others. It can be very exciting to learn about different people and the things that make those people different from each other. Treating individuals with mental illnesses can be intriguing from an intellectual standpoint.

While psychologists may see the same patient multiple times, they will continuously see new and different patients as well. As some patients graduate from therapy and move on, new patients with new concerns will arrive. Additionally, new mental illnesses are still being defined and diagnosed. The potential exists for a practitioner to see new patients with new disorders on a regular basis.

There are several advantages to a psychology career, including the ability to help others, the high earning potential, the opportunity to learn about human behavior, and the variety inherent in the work. If these things seem of interest, psychology may be an appropriate career choice.

Disadvantages of a Psychology Career

Like any job, individuals in psychology careers can identify disadvantages within the work. Some psychologists have described some problems of the job as being emotionally draining, dealing with difficult patients, needing to work long hours, and having insurance and billing issues.

Listening to other people's problems day in and day out can be an emotionally draining process. This can be especially true for psychologists who have a natural desire to want to help their patients. For the psychologist who empathizes especially well with a patient or patients, this can mean lingering thoughts about those patients even after work has officially come to an end for the day. It can be difficult to leave these concerns at the office, but thinking about them endlessly can be emotionally draining.

In addition to worrying about patients, psychologists can also be confronted with difficult patients. Difficult patients may demand the psychologist's attention more so than is normal or necessary, calling on the psychologist after hours or requesting additional appointments. Some patients can project feelings onto a psychologist that strain the overall relationship and make treatment more challenging. The psychologist must take care to avoid falling into the trap of interacting with these patients in a nonprofessional manner and projecting feelings of their own back onto the patient. When the therapist-patient relationship becomes truly dysfunctional, the psychologist must have the foresight to suggest an alternate therapist for the patient.

While some psychologists work traditional hours, many work long hours including nights and weekends. This is especially true for individuals in private practice who cater to patients who require more flexible appointment times. Psychologists who work in facilities that operate twenty-four hours a day may also experience working nights and weekends by virtue of taking on shift work.

Like many healthcare professionals, insurance and billing issues have dominated the psychology field as well. For individuals in private practice, the paperwork created by this task can be daunting and may, ultimately, require the hiring of a specialist to handle insurance claims. Not all patients will have health insurance, some who have insurance may have policies that do not cover mental health professional fees, and some may have insurance that covers only some services for certain periods of time. Keeping track of these differences can be exhausting and can ultimately take away from the hours a psychologist has available to actually see and treat patients. This kind of paperwork is often cited as the biggest disadvantage to a career in psychology.

When considering a field like psychology, it is important to think about the advantages and disadvantages. While any job will have disadvantages, one must evaluate these and come to a decision as to whether the interest in and advantages of the field outweigh the disadvantages. For a psychology career, the main things to consider are the long hours, insurance and billing issues, difficulty of certain patients, and the fact that the work can be emotionally draining.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1049