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Name

Professor

Course

Date

Majoring in Psychology

Introduction

We all acknowledge that there will almost often be an something to do which looks more

appetizing than our education, so, one might start questioning why we go to school if there is

something better e can do? Encouragement, that is the major reason. Everybody has his or her own

encouragement factor which maintains them in line with education. For my case, it is pretty general

and that is my future.

I always dream of becoming a psychologist and assist individuals throughout my life time.

I am ever curious as to the reason why individuals behave in the manner they do. Hope that is

sensible to everyone. Right? What I am trying to say is that psychology is the scientific study of

the brain of a human being as well as their behavior (Burman pg.12). So, out of my curiosity, I

decided to major in psychology to better understand the thinking pattern of the human being which

results into their behavior. My first decision to major in the career was motivated by the thinking

that I could use the degree to assist people in the society. But after further reasoning, I also asked

myself why people study, education? For instance, is it for the purpose of teaching others!

Actually, I will not be studying psychology to acknowledge why people in the society possess

certain behaviors, but more importantly understand myself (Eisenberg, Tracy and Ariel pg.46).

After freaking out at my selfishness, worried about my future and eventually accepting that I would
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major in psychology, which I love most, I do what I can do bet and attempt to reflect as to why or

what encouraged me to the career of psychology.

What Motivates Me to Earn A Degree in Psychology

It has been difficult for me to think of anything that stands out as prominent interest I could

use as my major at the university. That has been happening until I realized that always I had found

myself drawn to almost all categories of people. Not so much to the individuals themselves, but

also much interested in their behavior. For instance, why people become embarrassed when the

accidentally make eye contact with a stranger on the subway. Moreover, I wonder why some

people with some disorders act in a dramatic in a different manner while other human disorders

are far subtler. For once, I understand myself as a very sociable individual, so that is the main

reason drawing me to wondering about the behavior as well as the human interaction. Now, ever

since I started learning psychology in newspapers, periodicals and other materials, I start

commence picking out events in reality and visualizing them through different lenses. For instance,

I might see something about a historical event or hear something while the teacher is teaching, like

word war II and commence reasoning about how ethnocentric the leaders of the world were and

what personal factors drove such leaders to make their impactful and often catastrophic decision

(Burman pg.27). Or, it may also be a minor thing, for instance, I might notice somebody or even

my school mates consistently being scared of something, for example scare of exams or may be a

particular subject like mathematics if I may say, and then I would immediately start thinking about

whether that individual has some sort of a phobia.

Once I start thinking about psychology as my major, I begin thinking it might even more

beneficial that I see it now. Psychology shows up everywhere in the modern world. Since

psychology is basically based around people as well as how they think and operate, almost any
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field of specialization which involves people involves psychology. A particular book which I ready

during my leisure time – How we decide, by Jonah Lehrer, brings out more ideas about what I am

actually writing on this paper. It is all about psychology as well as neuroscience behind the brain’s

decision, making process. I find the book very interesting, often because of how many different

areas it connects the field of psychology to in-depth. For example, areas like football, gambling,

television shows as well as the military are all field which contain psychological aspects. So are

other topics such as advertising, philosophy, music and biology.

Given that I have so many varying interests, this versatility really seals the deal for my

interest in psychology. From my own point of view and from the little knowledge that I have so

far in this field, psychology is an old field which has much left to be discovered (Eisenberg, Tracy

and Ariel pg.85). Since I started developing interest in psychology, I have learned a great deal

about the career. However, my understanding in psychology and especially how I can use it to get

a career are still very young.

I have been thinking about the concept of graduate school and to some extent, it intimidates

me. however, I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubts that a degree in psychology can be

much more useful not only to myself but also to the whole society in general (Saxe pg.34). This is

a matter which has brought my decision process to an impasse and I am not very sure what to do

still. So, while psychology is very interesting to me on multiple levels, it has a tendency of

intimidating me somewhat, as I am sure is a natural challenge for any student struggling to decide

what they want to do for the rest of their life. My big hope is that going to sophomore year of

campus, I might gain little more knowledge about the practicality as well as logistics of a

psychology major. In addition, I hope that I may be in a position to gain more confidence in my

learning and my knowledge of psychology as my major field. The thing which I find more
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interesting with my nature is that psychology is happening to me even as I worry about being a

psychology major. My brain is going through the exact thing I am encountering about the field

that I am most dedicated to study.

Benefits of Majoring in Psychology

Now the other thing I needed to thing more about is the benefits of the degree of my campus

major. The fact is that the degree in psychology has many pros. The degree would equip me with

marketable skills as well as preparing me an exciting and well-paid career. Again, I will get an

opportunity to assist other people to overcome their daily problems or to carry out illuminating

experiments into why persons think and behave in certain manner (Saxe pg.63). The knowledge

gained from the study of psychology can even help me scope with harsh situations in my personal

life. Many other benefits of my major are as described below:

a) High Earning Potential

Money alone cannot buy a career satisfaction, however the high salary potential of earning

a psychology degree is certain a point in favor of this major, from the little knowledge I have,

pertaining to this field, psychologists earn an average salary of seventy-three thousand dollars on

yearly basis; which is nearly double the yearly wage for all occupations. Many psychologists even

earn more, with industrial organizational psychologists earning not less than seventy-seven

thousand dollars on yearly basis. Another issue which can affect one’s earning with degree in

psychology is the employer. Psychologists who work at hospitals, rather than schools or outpatient

mental health practitioner’s office earn amount not less than eighty-one thousand dollars per year

below those employed by government by almost nine thousand dollars (Cuddy, 2018).
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b) Positive job outlook

Psychology is not only a well-paying career but also an expanding field. Overall, job

opportunities are predicted across all the to grow by just seven percent over a decade. As reports

indicates from the bureau of statistics, jobs for psychology are to grow at a rate, called “much

faster than average” – implying at rate of nineteen percent. The number of job opportunities for

clinical, counselling as well as school psychologists, in particular is expected to rise by twenty

percent. Most of these added openings will be available in setting such as schools, social science

agencies, hospitals and mental health centers.

c) A Wealth of Specialization Options

I have already learned that psychologists have different roles. The many multiple areas of

specialization within my major offers candidates with multiple opportunities to specialize.

Whether one’s interest is in the category of psychological research, child development, criminal

justice or simply assisting people who suffer from mental health complications, one must end up

having an opportunity to pay attention on the aspect of psychology he or she is most excited to

explore or study further.

Some of the primary areas of specialization in psychology include:

 Clinical psychology – Which is basically the practice of psychology that revolves around

acknowledge as well as managing the challenges individuals encounters in their families,

at work as well as in their social lives.

 Counselling psychology – This is a branch of psychology which is concerned with

application of the knowledge of the psychology to the field of education, including

behavioral and learning challenges.

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 Developmental psychology – This is described as the study of how human thinking as well

as behavior development as well as progress throughout the lifespan of human being. I feel

motivated to major in this subcategory when I will proceed to higher level in my major.

 Forensics psychology – This is basically the application of the psychology ideas as well as

the research to the judicial systems in matters involving civil laws, family laws or criminal

justice

 Social psychology – This is known to be the study of how social interactions amid people

as well as groups impact thinking and behavior of the individuals.

The story does not end this the above-mentioned specialization, but psychologist can still

specialize further. The kind of disorder a clinical psychologist would treat, kind of challenges

which a psychologist might have an experience in counselling, psychologist developing interest in

studying child development or the requirements of aging population all relies on what the

psychology learners are as well as steps employed to prepare for the career in field and also at

early stages (Saxe pg. 74). I am happy I am setting path to my career early enough and therefore I

may face very little or no challenges in my career advancement in future.

d) A World of Research Opportunities

For one having thirst for knowledge, career in psychological research might best fit them.

As much as my major will enable me know more about human behavior, I am sure there would be

still a bit which will still be a nightmare to me. in this field I would wish to major, gives room for

research to investigate psychological phenomenon. The information obtained from the research

adds to the constantly evolving body of knowledge which informs psychological principles and

practices.
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Psychology, as a unique field of study existence since 1800s and since then researches are

still being carried out to learn more about human growth and development as well as the pattern

of human behavior (Eisenberg, Tracy and Ariel pg.57). Some of primary subjects’ specialist in

psychology are currently investigating include: the causes of fear, stress and altruism, the

environmental factors that affect human behavior, problem solving skills, social communication

signals among many other topics of interest.

e) Personal growth

Earning a degree in the field of psychology comes hand in hand with better understanding

of your personal life and professional life. We all form interpersonal relationships with our

colleagues, family members, event pet as well as with individuals within our social circles (Cuddy

,2018). These kinds of relationship do not always run smooth. When a psychology graduate

experiences a challenge in a relationship with the parents, siblings, coworker, child, neighbor or

romantic partner, he or she has an advantage since understands the matter very well and knows the

appropriate steps to take. A psychology degree program teaches students about human thought as

well as feelings which drive human behavior (Burman pg.67). When I take my degree in

psychology, I will be in a position to apply such ideas as well as the theories in my own life. My

background in psychology would therefore help me react to unique questions such as why did an

event lead to a disagreement or dispute? What could cause somebody in a relationship change their

behavior? Among other questions which arise from our normal way of living. Again, I will be in

a position to use the skills to tackle interpersonal challenges.

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Conclusion

In a nutshell, my decision to major in psychology would be of great help not only to me

but also to every one in the society. Earning a degree in psychology will open doors for me to

advance my career, understand myself better, understand some unique behaviors within human

beings as well as enabling me to secure a well-paying job for myself. Of course, apart from the

passion in the field, the monetary benefits associated with the field are very important. Given that

the field of psychology is a very broad field, having successfully completed my university major.

I would go further and advance my career by specializing developmental psychology since I have

a great passion in studying behavior of people and drawing conclusions why people behave in

certain manner or how human evolve or grow and what are psychological changes which occur

within human being while growing.

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Work cited

Burman, Erica. Deconstructing developmental psychology. Routledge, 2016.

Cuddy Amy The Psychology of Anti-Semitism. (2018) Retrieved from:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/opinion/sunday/psychology-anti-

semitism.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FPsychology%20and%20Psychologists

&action=click&contentCollection=health&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version

=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=collection

Eisenberg, Nancy, Tracy L. Spinrad, and Ariel Knafo‐Noam. "Prosocial development." Handbook

of child psychology and developmental science (2015): 1-47.

Ensink, Karin, et al. "Mentalization in children and mothers in the context of trauma: An initial

study of the validity of the Child Reflective Functioning Scale." British Journal of

Developmental Psychology 33.2 (2015): 203-217.

Saxe, Geoffrey B. Culture and cognitive development: Studies in mathematical understanding.

Psychology Press, 2015.