Psychology
Psychology is an exciting area of study and employment. Psychologists can work in many areas such as applied, clinical, industrial, child, and educational psychology, bereavement, and interpersonal relations. To become a psychologist you must be a graduate from an accredited undergraduate degree in psychology with two years of suitable accredited training and experience, and another important requirement is that you are also registered with the psychological board in your state.
Psychology is generally divided into two areas; scientific or academic, and professional. Scientific, or academic psychologists work mainly in tertiary institutions as teachers and researchers. To become an academic psychologist, normally a PhD, a postgraduate research degree, is required. The majority of professional psychologists work either in some form of private practice, or have some association with a government department. Many psychologists in private practice do some work in public sector organisations, and public sector psychologists also work in private sectors. There are a great number of job opportunities for psychologists wishing to work in the public sector. Every government department, state and Commonwealth, employs psychologists. Psychologists are employed by the Department of Health and Community services, the Education Department, Department of Social Security, Immigration, the Police department and in the Defence forces.
Most psychologists in private practice have received training in a specialist professional branch of psychology such as clinical psychology. Private industry psychology, sometimes known as organisational or industrial psychology, often concerns helping workers function effectively in their work place. Psychologists in these settings may have expertise in training, recruitment and selection, vocational guidance and career development, appraisal and review, industrial relations, occupational health and safety, planning technological and organisational change, job redesign, ergonomics, and marketing. One interesting area of professional psychology, sport psychology, involves working with athletes, teams and coaches in sports institutes, tertiary institutions and private practice to help improve performance, personal adjustment and development.
Psychology graduates have research, statistics, and computing and data analysis skills, which make them highly attractive to potential employers. For graduates who are not employed as psychologists, many large companies recruit psychology graduates and train them in related areas such as personnel management, market research and occupational health issues.
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