subject: Becoming a School Psychologist [print this page] A general impression about psychologists is that he/she is a person you go to when you are having any mental breakdown. Sitting on their chair, telling your problem and they listen to your problem while jotting down notes on their small pads eventually comes out with a statement that you have some rooted problem. Psychology is a very broad subject and it is so many different areas of study. Where you have psychologists to treat the adults, there are psychologists that help the children to get them out of their mental anxiety and learning disorder. Such problems of children often go unchecked as parents take just as a sign of growing problems and nothing much.
Treating such children is not easy so school psychologists are hired to help those children. School psychologists are special people who always try to perform their role in making sure that children are learning properly and at right pace. Becoming a school psychologist is not that easy. It really needs a hard word and commitment from you. Let us see how one can become school psychologist.
- The very first thing you need to do is to decide what you actually want to do. Evaluate your strength and weakness. Your decision is very critical and if you are interested in hard sciences then this job is not meant for you. Many people find this field very interesting due to its vastness and endless possibilities in learning about the way people think and how one can overcome his/her problems using the power of his/her own mind. Studying mental processes is a great charm for few but others may find it uninteresting.
- Becoming a psychologist definitely requires a formal education in the relevant field. No one can become a psychologist with relevant education and training of mind. Psychology has now become a very competitive field, so the best way to achieve success in the relevant field you might have to aim for doctorate in psychology. This means you have to spend eight to ten years of life in getting a proper education related to this field. It has seen that the basic university education is just not enough to be use in the real world scenario. You need more practicality and research in the field to become a good psychologist.
- After getting a degree, the best way to enter into the market is through internship. Internships are a great way to start your career by gaining experience before starting a proper career as a psychologist. The pay of the school psychologists largely depends on your skills and education. Generally, the starting pay for school psychologists is round about $60,000 which is quite a good beginning. Working in a school has some other benefits also. You will get three months off in summer along with any other school's break schedules.
Overall, a plenty of hard word, dedication and commitment is required to become a good psychologist. So, be prepared for all these if you really want to become a school psychologist.
