Are you interested in a psychology career in Canada? It's a known fact that psychology is one of the most challenging degrees, but learning about career options could make you make an informed decision and make better choices eventually.
This article will reveal the different types of careers in psychology and how you can find the one that suits you.
Why Study Psychology?
Considering how hectic it is to get a psychology degree, you may wonder why people even learn it. I mean, why not? Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind or behavior. It began as an experimental study in 1854 in Germany, where Wilhelm Wundt used scientific research methods to investigate reaction times. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, which spans the boundaries of natural and social sciences. It's an exciting study of the ambiguous space between the human mind and body.
Psychologists study humanity's conscious and unconscious aspects, including feelings and thoughts. They aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups of people. They research the perception, cognition, emotion, intelligence, subjective experiences, motivation, brain activities, and personality of humans.
Moreover, there are several branches of psychology. These fields of psychology have 15 major branches or even more. They include social psychology, educational psychology, clinical psychology, forensic psychology, research psychology, experimental psychology, counselling psychology, engineering psychology, developmental psychology, and abnormal psychology.
Generally, it is a lucrative career path and offers many opportunities for career advancements, probably why many choose it as a major.
Psychology Majors in Canada
You can either enrol in a campus-based–institution or study for an online bachelor's degree in Canada. Let's take a brief overview of some psychology majors you can build your career on:
- Social psychology studies individuals and groups in interpersonal relationships and how the presence of others (physical or imagined) influences personal reaction (thought, feeling and behavior). Social psychologists mainly work as consultants in setting up the social organization of businesses and psychiatric communities.
- Educational psychology is the area of psychology where people learn and retain knowledge. These psychologists work in academic settings like universities, medical schools, or hospitals. They apply psychological science to enhance the learning process and elevate educational successes for students.
- In simple terms, Clinical psychology is a branch of psychology concerned with providing mental, emotional, or behavioral health care for individuals, couples, groups, or families. It is a branch focused on assessing and treating mental illness, disability, abnormal behavior, and psychiatric problems.
- Forensic psychology is the application of psychological theories and practices to the legal system (perpetrators, court, and correctional officers). Forensic psychologists use scientific methods to investigate crimes. Anyone interested in forensic psychology must have strong clinical skills and an understanding of the law and its encapsulation. Take note that forensic psychology is different from legal psychology. The former takes a more experimental focus, whereas forensic psychology focuses more on the clinical application of psychology in the legal system.
- Research psychology uses empirical methods to infer causal and correlational relationships between psychosocial variables. These psychologists conduct scientific research on various topics related to mental processes and behavior. It's a broad niche in the psychological world.
- From the word "experiment", you can tell that experimental psychology is the study of human behavior using scientific methods to identify a problem, conduct meaningful research to collect relevant data, propose a hypothesis for further experiment and then come to a conclusion. These experiments may help psychologists develop theories that help identify and explain behavior by humans and animals.
Job Opportunities for Psychology Graduates in Canada
A bachelor’s degree in psychology is a great starting point for achieving a successful career as a trained psychologist; many graduates enjoy opportunities in different sectors of the economy ranging from science to art. We'll look into a few typical jobs where your degree will be helpful as a psychologist. These jobs include:
Psychotherapist
A psychotherapist helps clients understand their inner disposition and find new ways to deal with distress. They also support them in making positive changes to their reasoning and acting. Depending on the seriousness of their client's situation, a psychotherapist may see clients over a few sessions or for a more extended period of two to three years.
Typical client sessions cover problems like emotional issues, addiction, mental illnesses (anxiety and depression), sleep disorders, relationship difficulties and divorce. Some psychotherapists work well with individuals and groups, while some focus on working with families, children and adolescents.
A psychology graduate can specialize in psychotherapy, as it is one of the most paid jobs in Canada.
Mediator
A mediator manages cases to help resolve legal, family, or employment disputes.
As a mediator, you provide equal opportunity for people involved in a dispute to speak without being judged unjustly or interrupted.
There are different types of mediation services. It can be written, virtual, or telephone communication. But face–to–face mediation is the most popular.
Border Force Officer
A border force officer protects a nation from threatening activities like human trafficking, smuggling, and illegal trading of hard drugs like narcotics, terrorist attacks, or organized crimes.
If you are trained in this field, you will utilize your knowledge in psychology to monitor and interview suspicious travellers and search their baggage, vehicles and cargo for unauthorized items. You will form part of the frontline law enforcement organization to patrol the entry and exit points of the country - the coastline, railway and airports.
Life Coach
Through empowerment, life coaches help clients make better decisions about their potential goals, personal life and relationships. Life coaches analyze their strengths and weaknesses and guide them throughout the change processes.
A life coach and client relationship are usually confidential and one-on-one. Although life coaching isn't a regulated service, you are expected to get accreditation from a professional body to reflect your training experience.
Education Consultant
Many graduates of psychology specialize in an education consulting. If you receive training in this field, you can use your experience in learning, teaching, and assessment to help develop the curriculum or work with organizations and learners to identify and support their needs.
You can either work in different health facilities. You can also be self-employed or work as a freelancer. There are also international opportunities within this field of work.
An education consultant does not necessarily have direct contact with the learner and often might work in a role that supports an education organization in delivering teaching and learning strategies or fixing systemic issues.
Market Researchers
These psychologists collect and analyze data and information to help their clients make calculated social, economic and political decisions.
Psychologists who work as market researchers collect, analyze, and present either quantitative or qualitative data. Most of them are employed by marketing agencies, working for different companies and industries. They are sometimes employed to collect information on customer opinions, investments and marketing trends. This field comes with enormous responsibilities, but the pay is also fat.
Play Therapists
These types of psychologists use play as a communication tool to assist children in comprehending their world and dealing with emotional trouble and trauma. They work with children ages 3 to 11, but occasionally adolescents.
These professionals support their clients and their families through difficult life experiences, including physical abuse, trauma and violence, depression and anxiety, divorce and family separation and learning difficulties.
It's known that someone cannot treat complicated issues in the same way as adults. You'll need to understand how children express themselves and their world perception using play to excel in this field.
How to Succeed in a Psychology Major in Canada?
- Gain experience while studying
This will go a long way to help you. It is the foundation of every other thing you need to succeed. You shouldn't just study while you're at the university; you should expose yourself to the psychology industry and gain some experience.
- Choose a Subfield
Psychology study is vast, so you must pick an area of specialty to focus on. You shouldn't just jump on a subfield; you need to research and pick a subfield that fits you perfectly and will most likely succeed. There are several subfields in psychology you can choose from.
- Pursue a master's degree or a doctorate degree
This improves your chances of succeeding in the Psychology field. Once you've completed your master's or doctorate degree, you’ve attained professional status. You may find work in several places such as government health care centres, schools or as a research administrator or consultant.
- Prepare for exams: Even after completing your master's or doctorate, you'll need to sit for an oral and written exam. If you pass the exam, you'll get a license and be able to practice your psychology profession in Canada. See the skills you need to excel as a trained psychologist.
Final Thought
In this article, we discussed why you should consider psychology as a course of study, psychology majors and job opportunities for psychology undergraduates.
Conclusively, psychology graduates have numerous fields to building their careers on. It all depends on their personal preferences and likeness to support humanity. Therefore, finding a job as a psychologist in Canada is nothing but easy with the right skills and qualifications.
Can you earn a living as a psychologist? Find out!
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