It is a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together. And this tends to happen with a subject like Psychology. If a person has chosen to pursue this field and build a career in it, it is highly likely that they are enthusiastic about the subject and its teachings. Psychologists study cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how individuals relate to one another and to their environments. They frequently are innovators, evolving new approaches from established knowledge to meet the changing needs of people, organizations and societies. They develop theories and test them through their research. Many psychologists work as health care providers. They assess behavioural and mental function and well-being, study how human beings relate to each other and also to machines, and work to improve these relationships.

Psychology is an extraordinarily diverse field with hundreds of career paths. Some specialties, like caring for people with mental and emotional disorders, are familiar to most of us. Others, like helping with the design of advanced computer systems or studying how we remember things, are less well known. What all psychologists have in common is a shared interest in the minds and behaviors of both human and nonhuman animals. In their work, psychologists draw on an ever-expanding body of scientific knowledge about how we think, act and feel and they apply the information to their areas of expertise. Many psychologists work in more than one setting. For instance, college professors often consult for industry or see clients on a part-time basis. Overall, Psychology is a very exciting field.

Prospective Careers with a Psych Degree:

• • Clinical Psychologist
• • Forensic Psychologist
• • Psychotherapist
• • Social worker
• • Counsellor
• • Educational psychologist
• • Human resource manager
• • Teacher
• • Research roles
• • Media roles

The Good and the Bad of being a Psychologist:
Pros:

• • It offers great job satisfaction
• • It provides multiple employment opportunitiesli>
• • It can be well-paid
• • Possibility of flexible work hours
• • One gets to meet a lot of people from different backgrounds

• • It can be emotionally demanding and requires commitment
• • It is time consuming and takes hard work (but so does every career)
• • Setting up one’s own practice can be challenging
• • Work schedule can be erratic, since it depends on the client’s availability
• • It can be a lonely profession.

Work Role of a Psychologist:

• • Conduct scientific studies of behavior and brain function
• • Observe, interview, and survey individuals
• • Identify psychological, emotional, behavioral, or organizational issues and diagnose disorders
• • Research and identify behavioral or emotional patterns
• • Test for patterns that will help them better understand and predict behavior
• • Discuss the treatment of problems with clients
• • Write articles, research papers, and reports to share findings and educate others
• • Supervise interns, clinicians, and counselling professionals

Important Personal Qualities for Psychology:

• • Analytical skills- Psychologists must examine the information they collect and draw logical conclusions.
• • Communication skills- Psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research.
• • Integrity- Psychologists must keep patients' problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists' expertise in treating sensitive problems.
• • Interpersonal skills- Psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals.
• • Observational skills- Psychologists study attitude and behavior. They must understand the possible meanings of facial expressions, body positions, actions, and interactions.
• • Patience. Psychologists must demonstrate patience, because conducting research or treating patients may take a long time.
• • Problem-solving skills- Psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems.

Educational Requirements:
Most clinical, counselling, and research psychologists need a doctoral degree. Students can complete a Ph.D. in psychology or a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree. School psychologists need an advanced degree and either certification or licensure to work. Common advanced degrees include education specialist degrees and doctoral degrees (Ph.D. or Psy.D.). School psychologist programs include coursework in education and psychology because their work addresses both education and mental health components of students' development.
Industrial-organizational psychologists typically need a master's degree, usually including courses in industrial-organizational psychology, statistics, and research design. When working under the supervision of a doctoral psychologist, other master's degree graduates can also work as psychological assistants in clinical, counseling, or research settings.
Licensing- In order to practise psychology or call yourself a ‘psychologist’, getting a license is crucial. In India, there are two ways to obtain license of Clinical Psychologist. This License provided by RCI (Rehabilitation Council of India). You can get license automatically when you complete minimum level of education from a RCI certified university and institution. The second way is to apply to RCI in order to register yourself after gaining an appropriate educational degree.

Top Psychology Schools in India:

• • Lady Shri Ram College for Women- Delhi
• • Jesus and Mary College- Delhi
• • Jai Hind College- Mumbai
• • Fergusson College- Pune
• • Indraprastha College for Women- Delhi
• • Mithibai College- Mumbai
• • Christ University- Bangalore
• • St. Xavier’s College- Mumbai
• • TATA Institute of Social Science- Hyderabad
• • Kamala Nehru College for Women- Delhi
• • Ambedkar University- Delhi

Top Psychology Schools in the World:

• • Harvard University- US
• • Stanford University- US
• • University of Cambridge- UK
• • University of Oxford- UK
• • University of British Columbia- Canada
• • Yale University- US
• • University of Toronto- Canada
• • Princeton University- US
• • King’s College, London- UK