Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post

Norman · 12-24-2006, 07:21 AM

Hi there,

1. It's ok to change your area of interest. That's part of the purpose of college - to explore various areas and discover our interest. Don't be too hard on yourself for that. I, too, went through a period of deep confusion in terms of career direction when I was in grad school. So I'd encourage you to take advantage of your time in college to explore different options.

2. What do you want to do after college? If as you said, you want to apply for grad school in psychology, what do you want to do with that grad degree? Do research, or be a practitioner, etc. If you don't have a clear answer, then that means you need to do some research, go to the career center, talk with the career counselors, your professors, alumni in the field, try to get an internship/part time job in the field of your interest. You owe it to yourself to do the best planning you can for future success.

3. Regarding whether you should graduate with biology degree, or switch to psychology, it depends on your goal in step 2. For example, if you want to get into a good grad program in psychology, then it usually requires good overall GPA, and good major GPA. If after doing your research, you find that your current path (biology) can not lead you to that, then you'd better change course. If you switch to psychology, and get straight A's, then you can still make your case with admission committee - e.g. I lost interest in biology, that's why my grades suffered, but I 'm really interested in psychology, and I have my grades to prove it. Maybe you can even graduate with a double major.

4. To summarize, you need to establish your end goal, and work backwards from that. If you're not clear with end goal, then you need to spend time gaining clarity. It will be time well spent, as it can avoid side tracks down the road.

5. Keep in mind that a person's interest changes overtime. It might be better if you can get some real-world experience, e.g. summer internship, part-time job etc. to confirm your interest in psychology. Also, you need a decent overall GPA if later on you decide to apply for grad school in a complete different field than psychology/biology, or apply for your first job etc.

6. An alternative would be to graduate with biology degree, get a job in the psychology field, and see if you really like psychology, then decide what to do next. The good thing about it is that it lets you test your interest. The downside is that 1) whether you can get a job in psychology, 2) even if you really like working in psychology, you might still find hard to apply for grad school depending on your GPA, availability of recommendation letters after you leave school etc. IMHO, this path is harder than switching to psychology major now.

Best wishes,

Norman

12-24-2006, 07:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
Norman Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 16	Hi there, 1. It's ok to change your area of interest. That's part of the purpose of college - to explore various areas and discover our interest. Don't be too hard on yourself for that. I, too, went through a period of deep confusion in terms of career direction when I was in grad school. So I'd encourage you to take advantage of your time in college to explore different options. 2. What do you want to do after college? If as you said, you want to apply for grad school in psychology, what do you want to do with that grad degree? Do research, or be a practitioner, etc. If you don't have a clear answer, then that means you need to do some research, go to the career center, talk with the career counselors, your professors, alumni in the field, try to get an internship/part time job in the field of your interest. You owe it to yourself to do the best planning you can for future success. 3. Regarding whether you should graduate with biology degree, or switch to psychology, it depends on your goal in step 2. For example, if you want to get into a good grad program in psychology, then it usually requires good overall GPA, and good major GPA. If after doing your research, you find that your current path (biology) can not lead you to that, then you'd better change course. If you switch to psychology, and get straight A's, then you can still make your case with admission committee - e.g. I lost interest in biology, that's why my grades suffered, but I 'm really interested in psychology, and I have my grades to prove it. Maybe you can even graduate with a double major. 4. To summarize, you need to establish your end goal, and work backwards from that. If you're not clear with end goal, then you need to spend time gaining clarity. It will be time well spent, as it can avoid side tracks down the road. 5. Keep in mind that a person's interest changes overtime. It might be better if you can get some real-world experience, e.g. summer internship, part-time job etc. to confirm your interest in psychology. Also, you need a decent overall GPA if later on you decide to apply for grad school in a complete different field than psychology/biology, or apply for your first job etc. 6. An alternative would be to graduate with biology degree, get a job in the psychology field, and see if you really like psychology, then decide what to do next. The good thing about it is that it lets you test your interest. The downside is that 1) whether you can get a job in psychology, 2) even if you really like working in psychology, you might still find hard to apply for grad school depending on your GPA, availability of recommendation letters after you leave school etc. IMHO, this path is harder than switching to psychology major now. Best wishes, Norman Last edited by Norman; 12-24-2006 at 07:28 AM.