Navigating School
High School Teachers…Preparing Your Students to Succeed in College Can Be Hazardous to Your Professional Health
My recent blog titled Why Your Freshman Year in College Will NOT Be 13th Grade must have struck a particularly sensitive nerve in a very large group of people because it has received over 19,000 views.
How to Maximize the Blessings and Minimize the Curses of Being a Psychology Major
Psychology majors are both blessed and cursed.
What is a psychology major’s first blessing?
Your ability to prepare yourself for a remarkably wide variety of careers because the psychology curriculum provides so many opportunities to develop the seven crucial sustainable job-related skills (i.e., communication, collaboration, critical thinking, professional, self-management, technological, and ethical reasoning) that employers value most during the hiring process. These same seven skills also help new hires gain positive on-the-job outcomes (e.g., new responsibilities and promotions) and avoid negative on-the-job outcomes (e.g., reprimands, discipline, and termination). This blessing is the reason why “students who complete a baccalaureate degree in psychology will have completed an almost ideal workforce preparation”.
The second blessing?
The knowledge you acquire as you learn about the causes and consequences of human behaviors and mental processes, which are perhaps the most interesting, complex, and important topics addressed in higher education today. The captivating nature of psychological knowledge attracts huge numbers of students to the major, produces more than 117,000 bachelor’s degrees in psychology each year, and prepares you to enter a remarkably wide range of careers that deal with people and their interactions with each other and their environments.
Unfortunately, there are downsides (i.e., curses) to these blessings.
What is the first curse of a psychology major?
The prospect of making a decision from such a massive set of career choices is a daunting task for many psychology majors. Unlike your education-, accounting-, and nursing-major peers who know exactly what they will become when they graduate (i.e., teachers, accountants, and nurses), only a small percentage of psychology majors continue their education, earn graduate degrees, and become psychologists (Hettich & Landrum, 2014). The rest enter the workforce immediately after graduation in diverse fields such as business, advertising, human resources, social services, health care, law enforcement, technology, education, fitness, recreation, and the military.
The second curse?
Psychology is a very popular major. This may initially appear to be a blessing, but it also means that a bachelor’s degree in psychology places you at risk in the job market simply because so many are competing with one another for jobs. If you lack the ability to prove the possession of a strong set of job-related skills, you risk job dissatisfaction, the disturbing belief that your jobs are not related to your major (Borden & Rajecki, 2000), and the very real possibility of having to accept a job that does not require a bachelor’s degree (Rajecki & Borden, 2009), or—worse yet—that presidential candidate Jeb Bush was correct when he stated that psychology majors end up “working at Chick-fil-A”.
The experience of teaching, advising, and mentoring thousands of psychology majors during my 40-year academic career has led me to conclude that this group is composed of two subgroups:
- occupationally savvy students and
- occupationally not-so-savvy students.
These subgroups approach their professional futures in profoundly different ways.
Savvy students:
Savvy students adopt a proactive, two-stage approach to the collegiate experience by deliberately using it as an opportunity to explore, identify, and refine their career goals. You create and follow a well-crafted plan to acquire the skills you will need—and the evidence that you have acquired them—to attain your post-baccalaureate aspirations. In other words, you intentionally use your undergraduate educations to decide who you want to become and then begin a systematic process to construct yourself in the image of that person.
Not-so-savvy students:
On the other hand, if you are a not-so-savvy student, you will live your undergraduate life under the ill-fated illusion that you are entitled to, and will acquire, a good job after you graduate simply because you possess a college diploma certifying that you have accumulated enough credit hours to graduate. You will take courses to “get them out of the way,” avoid challenging classes in which you could strengthen important career-enhancing skills (e.g., writing, public speaking, and math), choose easy rather than skill-building electives, and spurn extracurricular opportunities because you believe them to be a waste of time, rather than opportunities to develop valuable collaboration and leadership skills. These unfortunate strategies, paired with the misconception that the work required as an undergraduate student cannot be applied to the “real world” of work, can produce very negative consequences.
Case in point is the extreme disgruntlement one of my former students described several years ago in The Huffington Post who, in debt and without a steady job, attempted to sell his diploma on eBay® for $36,000 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. Perhaps as a result of living out a self-fulfilling prophecy, he was quoted as saying, “Universities are handing out too many degrees that have zero real-world application.”
Interested in becoming the savvy psychology major I have described in this blog? Read my full article here to find out how.
From “How to Maximize the Blessings and Minimize the Curses of Being a Psychology Major,” by D. C. Appleby, 2015, Eye on Psi Chi, 20(1), pp. 16–19. Copyright 2015 by Psi Chi,the International Honor Society in Psychology. Adapted with permission.
Additional References:
Borden, V. M. H., & Rajecki, D. W. (2000). First-year employment outcomes of psychology baccalaureates: Relatedness, preparedness, and prospects. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 164–168. doi:10.1207/S15328023TOP2703_01
Hettich, P. I., & Landrum, R. E. (2014). Your undergraduate degree in psychology: From college to career. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Rajecki, D. W., & Borden, V. M. H. (2009). First-year employment outcomes of U.S. psychology graduates revisited: Need for a degree, salary, and relatedness to the major. Psychology of Learning and Teaching, 8, 23–29. doi:10.2304/plat.2009.8.2.23
Celebrating this year’s psychology internship match results and what we need to be doing now
In previous years, the day that the psychology internship match results were released brought a range of emotions: happiness for those who were moving on to the next phase in their training and a deep sense of frustration that so many students did not get matched because there were not enough positions available.
Interested in I-O Psychology? Here’s What You Need to Know
How do teams of astronauts creatively solve problems? What makes a CEO, police officer, or teacher motivated? How do we recruit, hire, and retain the best performers for our workforce? How do we eliminate discrimination against women and minorities in companies? What can we do to keep our military service members safe and healthy?
These are all questions of interest to Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychologists, who use science to improve not only the effectiveness of organizations, but also life for employees.
A Call to Arms or a Call to Action: Responding to Governor Rick Scott’s Challenge to Psychology
The Psychology Major Controversy:
According to a recent Inside Higher Ed article, the Sunshine State has launched its second gubernatorial torpedo at psychology in less than four months.
I thought there would be a parade…Life after doctoral study
Year-by-Year Self-Care for Graduate Students: Third Year Students
For Third-Year Students: This year is all about knowing when to plug in and when to unplug. With two years under your belt, you can not only identify your strengths but are also likely to be able to identify the people and places that make you stronger. Make this year about capitalizing on the connections you’ve made, and don’t forget to add a little something new along the way!
(Source: GotCredit on Flickr; some rights reserved)
Develop support systems.
After two years in your doctoral program you are likely to have been exposed to both happy and more trying moments. In those moments you’ve probably taken note of who was with you during those easy and hard times, and how they contributed to your experiences. Remember those people, and keep in touch with those who make you the happiest. Some of these people might be in your own research lab or weekly seminar. Others might be friends of friends who are not in graduate school, but manage to force you out of your apartment on a Saturday night on a strict “no-thinking-about-your-research” policy. Whether in your cohort or off-campus, these are the people who get you through. Know who they are and make time to be with them.
Take a vacation! Or just temporarily vacate.
Take a moment, or get moving…either way find time and space away from work (Source:Willemvdk on Flickr; some rights reserved)
Sometimes a great getaway is just a bike ride rather than an expensive plane ticket, away! Remember to bring along your important people and hit the road. (Source: Kamal Zharif on Flickr; some rights reserved)
It is likely that limited finances and long hours of studying, teaching, data analysis, or conference preparation will all be viable reasons for not taking the breaks we would like to take. It is this writer’s opinion, however, that you don’t need to be 100% settled in life to take a 100% rest. When and however you can, build in time to get away from your program. Getting away does not necessarily need to look like everyone else’s vacation. There are, however two requirements: (1) no checking email (yes, I said it); and (2) leaving the vicinity that you currently live or go to school in. As long as your mind is not on work and you are off the grid, you are resting. For example, even if you do not have the option of going on a trip that requires spending money and a passport, you can still pool your options for going someplace new—even if it is only for a weekend.
Some doctoral students prefer to save for a one-to-two week trip. Others may benefit more from shorter weekend trips. Whichever way you travel, allow yourself the escape. The more able you are to take a break, the easier it will be to look forward to getting back to work with a clear head.
Reposted with permission from the American Psychological Association’s GradPSYCH Blog.
Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of a 4-part series. View part 1, dedicated to the first-year graduate school experience, and part 2, dedicated to the second year.
Check out the 4th and final installment of “Year-by-Year Self-Care for Graduate Students” on APAGS’ GradPsych Blog
Year-by-Year Self-Care for Graduate Students: Second Year Students
For Second-Year Students: One year into graduate school, you are likely to meet feelings of adjustment with recognition that you are (somehow) only getting busier. Here are some tips on how to manage your new-found groove while facing even newer challenges and tasks–you can do it! (View Part 1 of this series, dedicated to the first-year graduate school experience.)
Change up where you work.
Studying may not sound like it has much to do with self-care, but after a year in a doctoral program it is as important to continue to stay diligent as it is to make time to play and have fun—this means it is it’s a good idea to match your growing focus with an occasional new discovery, such as a new place to hit the books! There are several gains associated with finding new study spots.
Many students like to find new and interesting places to hit the books. Studying in various locations can help with focus and recall. (Source: Neo II on Flickr. Some rights reserved.)
Research has begun to consistently point to evidence that switching where you work or study can be helpful for your memory, concentration, and performance habits. In addition, finding different places to work familiarizes you with where you live, and can build in organic breaks to your work (for example, a coffee shop closing, the proximity of your local library to a friend’s house or movie theater).
It’s of course important to have a good work space at home and at school, but having other options may allow you to perceive working as less of an inevitable chore and as more of a chance to explore where you live while you develop more flexibility and resilience in your work style. An important disclaimer to this, however, is to be mindful of privacy issues in relation to data, clinical work, and teaching courses!
Begin to shift your focus from “student” to “trainee.”
You are not only a student but a professional in training–don’t be afraid to own it! (Source: University of Exeter on Flickr. Some rights reserved.)
Whether training to become an academic, a public servant, or to work as a clinician, your passion and commitment to your training is your first priority in graduate school. For first year students, this commitment can be daunting to focus on with such primacy amidst moving to a new place, meeting new people, and forging new professional relationships, all while managing a course load. It can feel counter-intuitive (and ultimately can be counterproductive) to try and immediately fully align your priorities to your research, clinical work, or other professional training opportunities during you first year. It may be wise to acquaint yourself with the level of difficulty and expectations around coursework in your doctoral program.
Once you have two terms worth of grades under your belt, however, it is time to make the sometimes awkward shift from over-achieving student to ambitious scholar. This means that caring for yourself while in training will mean caring about what you are there to be trained in.
“Let go of perfectionism. Embrace the stumbles, risks, and uncertain steps forward.
By the time you are a doctoral student, it is likely that you are already a high-achieving student, and consequently the tendency may be for doctoral students to initially care more about their performances in their courses than anything else. You should find, however, that your advisors, supervisors, and mentors care about your professional development and scholarship more than they do about your grades. This means it will be up to you to manage coursework with your other responsibilities.A part of this management will mean letting go of the perfectionism common to aspiring graduate students and embracing the stumbles, risks, and uncertain steps forward affiliated with training on the doctoral level.
Uncertainty will not always make you feel good right away but it is far from your enemy. With your sense of self on one side and social support in the other, lean into your training and allow yourself some distance between you and your image of what it means to be the best student—you have bigger fish to fry.
Reposted with permission from the American Psychological Association’s GradPSYCH Blog.
Year-by-Year Self-Care for Graduate Students: First Year Students
For First-Year Students, Make time: Your first year of grad school can be be a big adjustment but being prepared and keeping some self-care strategies in mind will help you transition smoothly. In your first year, make time to…
Disconnect electronically.
It may appear counter-intuitive, but planning time where you do not work is as important as planning time for when you do work. Making time for yourself can be facilitated by signing off of all chats and other mobile devices at set times each day so that you are not inundated by messages you feel obligated to respond to at odd hours of the day or night. Although it is true you will have ongoing work while in school, it is also true your productivity benefits from unplugging. During your first year make friends with the idea of having professional boundaries, and put them to work!
Read your program’s handbook.
Most programs or departments will have a handbook, manual, or guide that details anticipated goals broken down for your program of study. The handbook’s aim is to acquaint you with the expectations of your program for each year or term you are enrolled as a student. Despite the aim of the handbook being welcome students to their graduate program, these guides are often long and can feel overwhelming at first –this results in students holding off on reading through important information. One way to evade the temptation to avoid when reading your handbook is to think of it as an indexed syllabus that you will never need all of at once. Trying breaking it down month-to-month, read what you need, and bookmark the rest. Don’t be afraid to find out what’s expected of you by doing your own research, and taking it one term at a time.
An added benefit of knowing the handbook well is that it can also help you to break ground with your advisor. By confirming with your advisor what is expected of you in accordance with the handbook, you are showing her/him your investment in the program, A discussion with your adivsor over the handbook can also help you begin to carve out a plan for managing time in your advisor’s research lab with other program requirements.
Get to know your cohort.
The reality of graduate school is that members of your cohort will not remain completely in sync or on the same schedule for every moment of your doctoral program. It is equally unlikely, however, that anyone else in your life will quite understand what that first week, month, or mid-term exam was like for you. Cohorts are like families in that everyone is an individual, but shared experiences can bring and keep you together. You will always have your first year to look back on, so do not be afraid to connect with your fellow students during your first year.
Take time during this first year on at least three different occasions to meet for a happy hour, a game night, or some other non-academic activity. It is true that much of what doctoral programs include involve long hours of work, but it is also true that students are not people without senses of humor, enjoyable quirks, and necessary inside jokes. Develop these traits and experiences in your new surroundings, find out more about yourself with your cohort by your side.
Keep in contact with close friends and family.
The people who likely saw you through your application process will likely be some of the same people who see you through graduate school. It’s a good thing to immerse yourself in what is happening with your program but remember you were interesting and important before beginning this graduate school experience.
Whether those bonds involve platonic, familial, or romantic partnerships, continue to be mindful of how friends and family show up in your life as you embark in your doctoral program. Go to these relationships for support, and remember to show up for your supporters when and how you can. They are likely an important part of who you are, and who you will become.
Reposted with permission from the American Psychological Association’s GradPSYCH Blog.