LAB 9

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
 CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Psychologists engage in research, practice, and teaching across a wide range of topics having to do with how people
think, feel and behave.
 Five broad categories: research, teaching, service provision, administration, and consulting (many academics
combine two or more of these areas)
 Work can involve individuals, groups, families, larger organizations in government and industry, animals, etc.

Research interests can focus on:

 mental health problems; cognitive functions; neurological, genetic, psychological and social determinants of
behaviour; brain injury and degenerative brain diseases; perception and management of pain; developmental and
behavioural abilities across the lifespan; criminal behaviour and psychopathology; addictions and substance use
and abuse; stress, anger and lifestyle management; social and cultural behaviour and attitudes; to name a few!
CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

 What careers come to mind? What does a psychology degree prepare you for?
ACADEMIC CAREERS
IN PSYCHOLOGY
 ACADEMIC CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
In order to determine if an academic career is right for you, ask yourself the following questions.

 Are you interested in, or do you enjoy conducting, research?

 Are you self-motivated?
 Are you an independent worker?
 Do you have good writing skills?
 Do you have good presentation skills?
 Do you have a strong knowledge of statistics or research methodology? If not, are you willing to become more
familiar with statistics and research methodology?
 ACADEMIC CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

If you think you might be interested in an academic career, consider what subfield of psychology you are interested in.
 Clinical/Counseling
 Cognitive
 Developmental
 Neuroscience
 Forensic
 Health
 Social
 Industrial/Organizational
 Etc.
 ACADEMIC CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

You should try to match your career goals with your interests:
 Are you interested in clinical, social, perception, cognition, development, neuroscience, or just everyday
behaviours?
 Do you enjoy working with children, students, or special populations?
 Would you prefer experimental or correlational research?
 Would you prefer laboratory research or field research?
 Do you want to work with animals and/ or do you have ethical concerns with animal research?
 Do you want to collaborate with doctors? Clinicians? Industry?
APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL
If you decide that you are interested in an academic career, you will need to apply to a graduate program. This
process is very similar to applying to an undergraduate program, but applications are usually due earlier (~December
1st), and also involve applying to a specific professor (for a supervisor) in addition to applying to the school.

Typically, each graduate application will need to include:

 Application Form
 Personal Statement
 Research Statement
 Transcripts
 Reference Letters
 GRE Scores
 Curriculum Vitae (CV)
GRADES, GRE’S, AND REFERENCE LETTERS

Typically, students are most concerned about their grades, GRE scores, and where to get reference letters when applying to a
graduate program.

Grades
 Good grades in relevant courses like statistics and research methods are important. However, you do not need a ‘perfect’
transcript.
 Usually schools focus more specifically on your 3 rd and 4th year grades, since those are the years that you will be taking the most
relevant and research intensive courses.

GRE
 A standardized test that assesses your critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning skills
 Most programs require the GRE General (Verbal, Quantitative, Analytical Writing).
 Some programs require a Psychology Subject GRE.
 Most programs will tell you if they require you to meet a specific GRE score cut-off for application purposes.
GRADES, GRE’S, AND REFERENCE LETTERS

Reference Letters
 Programs typically require 2 – 3 reference letters from professors and supervisors that know you well enough to
provide specific, detailed comments on your suitability for a graduate program.
 The best way to get references is to work with a specific professor on an honours thesis, special directed lab
course, RAship, or other volunteer work.
 Make sure to ask your referee if they are able to write you a reference, before submitting their names to the
program you are applying for.
 If they agree to write you a reference letter, professors typically appreciate you providing them with your CV,
and other information that may help them in writing you a quality and detailed letter (profs are busy, anything
you can do to help and inform them is appreciated)
 Don’t leave this until the last minute! Give a referee several weeks notice.
 APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL
REMEMBER: You don’t have to be perfect!
 Even if you have no experience with development research, it doesn’t mean that a developmental researcher won’t
be interested in working with you
 Even if you do poorly in a few courses, strong GRE scores and strong letters of reference can compensate
 You can be weak in some areas, so long as you have demonstrated that you have skills that show you would make
an excellent graduate student

There are many graduate schools and many professors that you can work with at the graduate level:
 Don’t be afraid to apply to work with professors in research areas within which you have little experience
 Don’t be afraid to look out of province or out of the country! Most universities have excellent financial aid
opportunities for those out of province and country!
 APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL

Basic strategies to help you be successful in applying to graduate school

1. Start considering graduate school as you begin your third year.
2. Take the appropriate courses and work hard in them.
3. Get involved in research!
4. Prepare for and write the GREs early.
NON-ACADEMIC CAREERS
RELEVANT TO PSYCHOLOGY
WHY GRAD SCHOOL MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU

Obtaining a BA/BSc, MA/MSc, PhD can take up to 10 years. After

that, academics typically complete 2 – 4 years of post-doctoral work
before being able to apply for a position at an institution for a
faculty job.
In addition, graduate school doesn’t pay as well as non-academic
jobs. If you are money conscious, graduate school might be difficult
for you.
DIRECT APPLICATION FIELDS
DIRECT APPLICATION FIELDS
Yearly Salary Range
(CDN – 2010/2011)
Academic / Career Advising $34,500 - $66,000
Eligibility Coordinatior $33,000 - $57,000
Admissions Officer $25,000 - $65,000
Employee Relations Assistant $30,000 - $53,000
Human Resources Recruiter $30,000 - $70,000
Survey Assistant Unknown
Secondary School Teacher (Public / Private) Around $49,000
PSYCHOLOGY DEGREES OPEN DOORS

 Many people who get an undergraduate degree in Psychology go onto careers that are not directly related to
psychology
 The skills you gain from your degree are the most important:
 Communication – written and verbal
 Data analysis
 Experience conducting research
 Problem solving, critical thinking
 Interpersonal awareness
 And more!
INDIRECT APPLICATION FIELDS
Yearly Salary Range
(CDN – 2010/2011)
Advertising Media Planner $29,000 - $67,000
Biomedical/Medical Research Assistant $26,000 - $54,000
Corrections Officer $40,000 - $80,000
Educational Researcher $30,000 - $88,000
Film Researcher $30,000 - $66,000
Alumni Affairs Coordinator Unknown
Intelligence Officer Classified
GETTING STARTED

If you are interested in a non-academic career, the best place to start is career services at Queen’s:
http://careers.queensu.ca/students

Career Services offers:

 Regular information sessions and workshops (resume building, interview skills, etc.)
 “Major Maps” to help you target a career of interest in your field of study
 Career advisement appointments
 Job postings
 Employment programs through Queens to help you gain experience (Work Study, SWEP, QUIP, Federal
Government)
OTHER RELEVANT GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL DEGREES

 Law Degree (Juris Doctor; JD)

 Master of Business Administration (MBA)
 Social Work (BSW, MSW)
 Occupational Therapy (MScOT)
 Education (M.Ed)
 Doctor (M.D.)
GETTING INVOLVED
IN PSYCHOLOGY
 GETTING INVOLVED IN PSYCHOLOGY

Regardless of which direction you chose to take with your degree, it’s a good idea to get involved now. The more
experience you have, the better qualified you will be for your chosen career.

How to get involved;

 Volunteer with a club or social group that you’re interested in (1 st year onwards)
 Student affairs, counselling and care services, telephone aid services
 Work / volunteer as a research assistant (2 nd year onwards)
 RA-ships, SWEP (summer work experience program), NSERC summer student
GETTING INVOLVED IN PSYCHOLOGY
GETTING INVOLVED IN PSYCHOLOGY

 Work / volunteer / job shadow for a professional program (2 nd year onwards)

 Speech pathology, research units in hospitals, geriatric care centers
 Special Directed Courses in Psychology
 NEW! PSYC 299 – Special Directed Lab (available to 2 nd year students and above)
 PSYC 550/555 – Special Directed Reading Course (directed readings on a specific topic, write a substantial
review paper)

 Find more information about Special Directed Courses here:

 https://www.queensu.ca/psychology/undergraduate/current-students/course-information/special-directed-courses
GETTING INVOLVED IN PSYCHOLOGY

 Take teaching-oriented courses (4th year)

 Teaching facilitator for PSYC 100 (PSYC 400)
 Take Special Topics in Psychology (400-level courses) focused on a specific area of research:
 https://www.queensu.ca/psychology/undergraduate/current-students/course-information/current-course-outlines
 Finally, Honour’s thesis or Honours Project: PSYC 501
 https://www.queensu.ca/psychology/undergraduate/current-students/course-information/psyc-501-information
 Keep in mind: these positions can be important in getting good reference letters from your supervisors who
can then speak in more depth about you and your abilities
 Read more about applying for PSYC 501
 RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS
RAships can be volunteer, paid, or can be part of a special directed lab course for academic credit (e.g., PSYC 575)
 Typically 5-10 hours of work per week
 PSYC 570/575 – Special Directed Laboratory Course (course credit for working in a lab, write a substantial
research report)

Professors typically look for students that are genuinely interested in and excited about research, that are motivated, and
that have skills that would benefit the lab (e.g., writing, statistics, presentation, programming)
 These skills are useful no matter what area of research you pursue

They also look for a good personality match between you, themselves and their lab
 You may end up working with this professor for a while, so a good fit can be extremely important
 APPLYING FOR AN RA POSITION
 Peruse the Faculty Members or Laboratory page on the Psychology website, and read about the research being conducted
by professors that you might be interested in working with ( https://www.queensu.ca/psychology/research/research)
 APPLYING FOR AN RA POSITION

Once you have found a lab you are interested in, you will need to contact the professor
 You will need to provide them with a cover letter of why you’re interested in an RAship and a Curriculum Vitae
(CV)
 A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a résumé and is expected to include a comprehensive listing of
professional history including every term of employment, academic credentials, publications, contributions or
significant achievements
NEED HELP CREATING YOUR CV?

 Seek out Queen’s Career Services!

http://careers.queensu.ca/students/looking-job/job-search-tools/resumes-cvs-cover-letter
s

 Another great online resource is by the American Psychological Association (there is

a link to a template at the bottom of the webpage)
http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2015/01/curriculum-vitae.aspx
 NEED MORE INFORMATION?
 Surf the webpages of universities
 Contact individual programs or look through their Research website

 Talk to professors, undergraduate assistants, TAs, graduate students, RAs, and lab coordinators
 RAs and lab coordinators have the most hands-on experience of working within a lab in an undergraduate
capacity
 TAs and grad students have the most recent experience in the process of looking for and applying to grad school

 Spend a day at Career Services

 Book an appointment for career counselling
 Borrow guides and help books from their library
QUESTIONS?