Tips For Future And Current Psych Majors From A Psych Major

tips for future and current psych majors from a psych major

know that psychology isn’t just having someone sit on a couch and talk about their feelings. there’s research, psychiatry (the more chemistry side of psych), music therapy, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and so. much. more.

figure out your final goal. there are literally hundreds (ok i may be exaggerating) of different fields within psychology, so work backwards

do some research and determine a couple fields of psych that you may want to get a job in after you graduate. there’s research, therapy, clinical psychology, school psychology, etc. it doesn’t have to be one final choice, it could be more than one, but it’s good to narrow it down to a few and have an idea for your top choice.

take classes related to the fields you’ve chosen to help you get a better understanding of what your future career would be like, and from there figure out which class’ material you liked the best (material. not the best teacher). this will help you narrow down to your top choices and help you feel more confident in your goals.

know that you don’t really have to choose until maybe your 3rd or even 4th year of college. and even then, you don’t really have to choose until after you graduate and are looking for a job, but having a field in mind will help you feel more prepared for life after college

know that there is a lot of memorization. parts of the brain, different emotions, diseases, ground breaking studies; you will need to memorize all of these things. flash cards will become your best friend when memorizing this stuff.

brain diagrams are everywhere. a lot of psychology crosses over into neurology, and you’ll have to learn what specific parts of the brain are responsible for different functions. it helps to draw out these diagrams and color code them for each section of the brain. they don’t have to look pretty. an oval with a vertical line going down the middle is good enough to get the general idea of a brain.

expect big class sizes. 100 and 200 level psychology courses are common electives among non-psych majors, so know that a lot of your classes in your first year or two will most likely be lecture classes, meaning you’ll have to do the majority of the learning on your own. this is when it’s very important to hold yourself accountable for your learning and to study on a regular schedule.

take part in experiments if you can. pretty much every college has student-run research experiments that you can be a subject in (and sometimes they’ll pay you to participate). be a participant in as many as you can. not only are they fun and interesting, but they’ll give you a better understanding of what to expect in higher level courses.

know that your professors are there for you. most psych professors are the nicest people you’ll ever meet. and since they’re experts in psychology, they understand the stress you are under and they are typically more than happy to answer questions or even just be an ear to listen while you vent.

if you can, get ahead in your classes. look ahead in your text books, get notes from people who have already taken the class before, or just watch psych videos like Crash Course to familiarize yourself with stuff you’ll probably need to learn at some point. and this goes for every class/major. it’s a very easy way to not feel like you’re drowning when you have a difficult class. (i’m more than happy to share some of my psych notes with anyone! message me and i can send you some of my notes if you want!)

use yourself as a reference. a big part of psychology is personality and behavior, and you yourself are a prime example of a personality. take personality quizzes and find out more about yourself the help you learn why you are the way you are. it will give you a better understanding of how the brain works and it may help you make connections in some topics. (click here for one of my new favorite personality tests app)

if you have any questions, feel free to message me and ask! i’m an educational psycholgy (major) and special education (minor) student, and i’m going to start taking graduate level classes in a year to get a masters in educational psych, so hopefully i’ll be able to answer your questions to the best of my ability. and if not, hopefully i’ll at least be able to point you in the right direction! love you guys! - sam xx