Career in psychology

Choosing a Major:
Is Psychology Right

For You?

Becoming informed of your options:
A. Learn about your major
B. Speak with current students
C. Speak with recent graduates
D. Speak with a career professional
E. Speak with professors

Learn about yourself
A. Learn about yourself through reflective writing

1. Uses of reflective writing
2. Tips for beginning a reflective log

B. Learn about yourself through assessment
1. Identify interests through self-assessment
2. Identify interests through career assessment

C. Assess your skills
D. Assess your values
E. Reflect and draw conclusions

Steps to choosing a Major
1. Assess personality and attitudes
2. Assess skills and abilities
3. Assess your values and life goals
4. Research Majors
5. Explore courses
6. Talk with others
7. Visit the career center
8. Talk with Professors
9. Compare alternatives
10. Reflect on your choice
11. Remember major does not equal career

Comparing Majors

Skills acquired with a psychology major
1. Knowledge of human behavior
2. Information acquisition and synthesis
3. Research methods and statistical skills
4. Critical thinking and problem solving
5. Reading, writing and speaking
6. Interpersonal and intrapersonal skills
7. Adaptability

What to expect as a psychology major
A. Introduction or general psychology
B. Research design and statistics
C. Breadth courses
D. Elective courses
E. Capstone course

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY 202

Section 1
Fall, 2022

Professor Contact Information

Name: Barry J. Ries, Ph.D. Email: [email protected] (preferred)
Office: AH 121D Office Hours: By appointment on Zoom or
Mailbox: AH103 in person as arranged
Phone: 389-1305

Email

The best way to contact me is by email. When you send me an email,
include the course and section number in the subject line. I am
teaching multiple sections of some of my courses and this will help me
find information if necessary. I will respond to emails Monday – Friday
and always try my best to respond quickly. Do not count on me
responding to emails Friday’s after 4 or on weekends. You can go ahead
and send them and I will respond on Monday mornings. If necessary, I
might suggest we set up a Zoom meeting to ensure better
communication and opportunities for questions and clarification.

Required Text:
No text is required. Readings will be recommended or
assigned during the semester. PowerPoint lectures are also
provided.

This is a great site for all professions. I encourage you to
check it out and use it as appropriate for this course and your
future career explorations. https://www.onetonline.org/

Course Objectives:

The Department of Psychology has adopted a series of learning
objectives for students in our major. These learning objectives fall
into five broad goal areas that include:

1.Developing a knowledge base in psychology
2.Scientific inquiry and critical thinking
3.Ethical and social responsibility
4.Oral and written communication
5.Development of a professional identity

This course is designed to develop skills in all of these areas, with a particular emphasis on goal areas 1 and 5. More
specifically, this course will explore various degrees and types of careers available in psychology, and what psychologists
do. The specific learning objectives for this course are:

1. Students will emerge from the course with realistic ideas about how to implement their psychological
knowledge, skills, values and personal assets in occupational pursuits in a variety of fields of psychology.

2. Students will be able to incorporate critical thinking within the framework of career-related decision making.

3. Students will be able to develop a set of reasonable expectations of what a career in psychology might offer in
terms of personal benefits, as well as what demands might be placed on them individually in a career.

4. Students will gain an understanding of the level of commitment required for the field, educational demands,
time demands, as well as opportunities and expectations for earnings.

5. Be able to understand and critique research literature in a variety of psychology career paths.

6. Demonstrate effective time management skills by completing assignments accurately and on- time.

Online Course Structure:
This class will be completed over the course of the semester (see “class schedule” below).
Materials for each module will be available Monday morning of the scheduled week and
will close three weeks later on Saturday at 11:59 PM. You will have approximately three
weeks to complete a module. Therefore, it may be beneficial to work slightly ahead in
order to avoid last minute difficulties with an assignment or technical difficulties with
accessing the course through D2L. In other words, don’t wait until the last minute.

The course will be divided into 5 modules which correspond to three topics (e.g., module
1 covers the topics of Introduction and syllabus, Is Psychology right for you? and Take an
active role; module 2 covers three different topics, etc.). Each module will involve,
viewing the lecture material on Power Point slides or reading the corresponding book
chapter. All work must be submitted by 11:59 PM on Saturday per the schedule. Students
will not be able to go back to complete work once the module is over.

We will not have scheduled times to meet online (e.g., chat room) or face-to-face. If you
are having difficulties, please email me as soon as possible for assistance.

Assignments:

Class Notes:
Due Dates as scheduled below
100 points

You are required to turn in your notes from the recorded PowerPoint lecture.
They do not have to be typed but they must be legible. The more detail in your
notes, the more points you will be awarded. You will not do well if all you write
down is the screen text. Note taking is an important skill and needs to be
developed if you want to pursue graduate education.

Please see the schedule for due dates. You will turn in your notes for each three
chapter module. Each module is worth 20 points.

Academic Plan:
Due October 22 at 11:59 pm
25 points

Students will make a list of all courses they have already taken and courses they still need to take in all
semesters until they graduate. Students should make sure that their course plan meets all requirements for
graduation and prepares them for their anticipated career plans. The plan should include 1) the courses
already completed prior to and including this semester; 2) the courses the student plans to take for each
remaining semester; 3) a list of all classes that will fulfill the student’s major; 4) a list of all classes that
will fulfill the student’s minor; 5) a list of all classes that will fulfill the student’s general education
requirements; 6) a list of all classes that will be electives taken to reach the required 120 credit hours; and
7) other extracurricular activities that you plan to pursue to strengthen your graduate school application or
resume for your job search.

This might be a good time to visit with your academic advisor to assist you with your plan. You also
might find this site beneficial. https://mankato.mnsu.edu/academics/academic-
catalog/undergraduate/psychology/psychology-bs#plan

Journal Article Reviews:
Due November 12 at 11:59 pm
25 points

1. Pick four research papers that represent research done in a field of psychology that is of interest to you (e.g.,
Clinical Psychology, School Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology,
Neuropsychology, Health Psychology, Etc.). Each paper must be from a different field of psychology. The
papers must be scientifically based and from the years 2010 to present, no anecdotal wonders, no theoretical
papers or reviews. If the article does not have a research design and dependent measures, it cannot be used for
your class paper.

2. If you have concerns about the appropriateness of your article for abstracting, attach it in PDF form and
email it to me at: [email protected] I should be able to rather quickly give you feedback on this.

3. Use the attached abstract outline-exactly. Type the abstracts. Each paper should be approximately 2-3 pages
in length.

Abstract Outline
Two to three (2-3) pages in length, double spaced/typed. Use the headings exactly as presented below.

Reference: Author’s name (year). Title of article, Journal Name, volume, pages, APA format; e.g. – Becker, L.J., & Seligman, C.
(1981). Educational treatment of hyperactive children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 1-7.

Descriptors: What area of psychology are you writing on? Why did you choose this area of interest?

Précis: A brief one or two sentence description of the study (e.g., the School Psychologist used a random beep tape to reinforce
hyperactive children in a special classroom to stay on task).

Introduction: This section should briefly describe any background information found in the introduction of the paper. Items may
include rationale for the study, important previous studies, special issues.

Method: This section of the abstract should include a more detailed description of the subjects, design setting, target behavior
(dependent measure) Enough detail should be given to the intervention (step-by step) so that it might be used by someone reading
the abstract.

Comments: This section should include in your own words what you thought was important about this study and what makes it
unique. How does the review of research in this field affect your interest in pursuing a degree in this area (positive and/or
negative).

Cautions: This section should include any procedural concerns you may have about the techniques used in the study, issues you
might have with the type of research, what you would additionally want to know before enrolling in graduate studies in this field.

Career Considerations:
Due December 3 at 11:59 pm
25 points

For this assignment, choose three careers that you are considering. 1) Please give a
detailed description of the area including what makes it unique. 2) Three things that
you find appealing about the career. 3) Two things that concern you and may lead to
professional burnout. 4) The training and experiences required for the career.

You might find this government site useful. http://www.bls.gov

Each career consideration should be at least one page long (total of at least 3 pages
for this assignment). Again, the more details you provide, the better your score.

Grading:

All assignments must be submitted on the assigned due date. Unexcused late assignments
submitted after the due date will be lowered by 5 points each day they are late. Prior
notification is required for excused assignments. For example, failure to turn in assignments
because of medical emergencies or other special circumstances should be discussed with the
instructor in advance if at all possible.

Point Distribution

PowerPoint Notes 100 points
Academic Plan 25 points
Journal Article Reviews 25 points
Career Considerations 25 points

Grades: 175 – 157 = A 156 – 140 = B 139 – 123 = C 122 – 106 = D <105 = F

Academic Honesty: (as stated in the University Policies and Procedures): It is the intent
of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of
students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding
of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are
provided.

Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes
critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper
citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are
paraphrased by the student.

Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:
• submitting the work of others as your own
• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes
• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and
other reference forms
• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course
without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions on work which has
received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic
assignments.
This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets,
help from another student, etc.

Collusion – Assistance to another student or among students in committing the act of
cheating or plagiarism.

** Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If
you are a student with a documented disability, please see me as early in the semester as
possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disabilities
Services Office at (507) 389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).

Module 1
Aug. 22 Introduction and syllabus
Aug. 29 Is psychology right for you?
Sept. 5 Take an active role in your education
Sept. 10 Notes due for Module 1 by 11:59 pm

Module 2
Sept. 12 Study tips: Tools for academic success
Sept. 19 APA Style Manual: An Introduction
Sept. 26 Clinical and Counseling Psychology
Oct. 1 Notes due for Module 2 by 11:59 pm

Module 3
Oct. 3 School Psychology
Oct. 10 Legal and Forensic Psychology
Oct. 17 Health Psychology/Sports Psychology
Oct. 22 Notes for Module 3 and Academic Plan by 11:59 pm

Module 4
Oct. 24 Biopsychology, Cognitive Neuropsychology, and Clinical

Neuropsychology
Oct. 31 Industrial Organizational and Human Factors Psychology
Nov. 7 Experimental, Cognitive and Quantitative Psychology
Nov. 12 Notes for Module 4 and Journal Article Reviews by 11:59 pm

Module 5
Nov. 14 Social and Consumer Psychology
Nov. 21 Developmental Psychology
Nov. 28 Getting into graduate school
Dec. 3 Notes for Module 5 and Careers Consideration by 11:59 pm

Take an Active
Role in Your
Education

What do you learn in college?:
A. Communication skills
B. Reading skills
C. Listening & note taking
D. Computer literacy
E. Critical thinking and problem solving
F. Self-management skills

Get to know Faculty: Professors,
Advisor and Mentors

A. Interact with Professors
B. Effective use of emails
C. Your academic advisor
D. Seek a mentor

Get Research Experience: Be a Research
Assistant

A. Why Become a Research Assistant?
B. What does a Research Assistant do?
C. How do you become a Research Assistant?
D. Why do professors seek student research
assistants?

Get Research Experience: Conduct a
Research Study

A. Seeking out opportunities

Get Teaching Experience

A. What do teaching assistants do?
B. Consider being a tutor.

Get Field Experience

A. Why seek field experience?
B. How do you get field experience?

Get involved in the Discipline

A. Attend Psychology Conferences
B. Disseminate Research
C. Participate in Professional Organizations