So you are thinking about your career and are considering becoming a psychologist? I don’t blame you! I have been working as a clinical psychologist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia for seven years now and I could not be happier with my choice of career.
In this blog I will be discussing my personal opinion about:
The positives and negatives of selecting a psychology career path.
How to become a psychologist in Australia - including example questions for psychology Masters interviews.
The different types of psychology specialist pathways which exist in Australia and which pathway I recommend.
First things first, what is a psychologist?
A psychologist is a health professional who specialises in assessing, diagnosing and treating mental health conditions among the general public. A psychologist must complete a minimum of six years of university training before they are eligible to register as a general psychologist.
What university pathway must a psychologist complete?
First, you need to finish a 3-year undergraduate degree in psychology. Next, complete a 4th-year postgraduate degree (either a graduate diploma or honors). Lastly, enrol in a 2-year Master's program.
No matter what you hear, I guarantee that it does not matter which University you study your psychology degree at. APPLY TO ALL UNIVERSITIES! I cannot stress this enough. Do not limit yourself.
So what is good about becoming a psychologist? What are the draw backs?
Like with all careers, there are positives and negatives to becoming a psychologist.
The best part about choosing this career path is that you get to become a very special part of someone else’s life. You can become someone’s life raft at times when they feel they have no one else there for them. You develop close bonds with people. You get to see people at their worst and (hopefully) watch them overcome their mental health struggles.
These positives can come with difficulties too. Saying goodbye to clients whom you’ve helped can be bitter sweet. You can encounter difficult clients who may really unsettle you and take you completely out of your comfort zone. You will learn that you cannot help all clients. And perhaps also most confronting, can be a hearing about a client’s suicide attempt.
If you are a real empath and enjoy listening to other people’s struggles, then this may be the perfect career path for you. It will take some time to learn how to set up healthy boundaries with clients but it is do-able! This is something I personally struggled with at the start of my career and I became burnt out very quickly. After taking some time off and learning to set up boundaries (e.g. specific working hours and days) I was able to step back into loving my job.
What type of psychology is best for me to specialise in?
This question comes up often from aspiring psychology students. My recommendation is usually to aim for a clinical psychology master's degree. This is primarily due to the Medicare funding model in Australia. Under Medicare, clients visiting clinical psychologists receive a higher rebate. Clinical psychologists undergo additional training, including extra supervised hours and professional development after completing their master's degree.
Once you are clinically registered, you have the flexibility to work with any population. Additional training can always be pursued to specialise in various areas like forensic, educational & developmental, or community health.
I’ve completed my undergraduate psychology degree and my 4th year of postgraduate study. How can I best prepare for my Masters interview?
Some examples of questions you may be asked during your Masters interview:
Why would you like to become a psychologist? Why would you like to specialise in the particular Masters course you have selected? (E.g. clinical, educational/developmental etc)
Tell us about your postgraduate research thesis. What was the outcome of your research?
What is the difference between a psychologist and a friend?
What ethical issues could you imagine might come up while working as a psychologist?
Do you have a particular client group you would like to work with and why?
How is a clinical psychologist different to a general psychologist?
Tell us 5 adjectives to describe you as a person
Tell us 5 adjectives which would make a good psychologist
What challenges might a psychologist encounter? What might you struggle with personally?
Tell us about an example of a conflict you have experienced in your place of work or while attending university. We would like to know how you managed this conflict.
I am now taking on coaching clients who would like support/coaching in their journey to becoming a registered psychologist. You can book in online via my website.