career options in psychology

Assignment Instructions

Week 2 Resume Assignment

In this assignment, you will reflect on 3 potential career paths within the realm of psychology. The goal is for you to consider career options available to you with a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in psychology. In other words, to begin answering the question, “What can I do with a degree in psychology?” Open your mind to the possibilities! Don’t short change yourself by exploring only those that are familiar to you. You just might read about a career path you knew nothing about only to discover it’s something you would be very interested in.

There are 2 parts to this assignment, described in detail below:

• Part 1: Reflection on three potential job options – 3 pages in length plus a references page
• Part 2: Resume– 1-2 pages in length

Both parts of the assignment should be typed all in one document and submitted at the assignment link as one document.

Part 1: Three-page reflection assignment

Go to: https://careersinpsychology.org/50-best-jobs-psychologists/

Review the listings of common job titles that are possible with a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in psychology. Note that there are many more job options available. This is just a sampling. Identify a job from each of the degree levels that piques your interest. In other words, consider a job that could be obtained with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a job that could be obtained with a master’s degree, and a job that could be obtained with a doctoral degree in psychology.

You are to use a total of three sources; two from the resources listed below and one academic source that you locate on your own. Just a reminder that commercial or pop websites are not considered academic sources. For help with determining what an academic source is visit: http://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writing/identifying-academic-sources.php

Resources:

• O*Net: https://www.onetonline.org/
• Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH): https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
• Dictionary of Occupational Titles: hhttps://occupationalinfo.org/contents.html
• American Psychological Association (APA) Career Guides https://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/careers
• Careers in Psychology: https://careersinpsychology.org/psychology-careers/

Use the information you acquired from your sources to reflect on the 3 job fields. Your reflection assignment must be three pages in length plus a references page. You must include source credits within the body of your writing to give credit where it is due. Also, include an APA style references page. For help with using APA style visit: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html

For each of the 3 job options you choose to explore at the 3 different degree levels, address the following in your paper.

1. Provide an overview of the career path. What do people do in this field of work?
2. In what way(s) does the career path fit your personality, skills and interests?
3. What is the median salary, and is it enough to ensure the lifestyle you desire? Explain your answer.
4. What education and/or training would you need to work in the field of work?
5. What kind of time and costs are you willing to commit to in pursuing this career path?
6. In what ways would working in this career field bring you satisfaction?
7. What challenges might you face in this career path?
8. After reviewing the field of work would you consider pursuing it? Why or why not?

Part 2: Resume (1-2 pages)

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to take an inventory of your skills and start archiving your experiences as you begin to think about a professional career within the realm of psychology.

While some of you may not have held a “real” job, or you may not have acquired the education and training necessary for working in a professional career, you will be surprised to discover the general, or often referred to as transferable, skills you possess that would be assets in psychology-related careers or others. Also, as you progress in your psychology major, consider the knowledge and skills you will develop via your coursework. Just a quick glance at the psychology course descriptions in the catalogue, or on the course syllabi, will give you an idea of the knowledge and skills that can be included on your resume upon completing the courses.

Below are examples of skills acquired that are transferable to the field of psychology, and those that are specifically related to psychology as acquired through completed coursework. Identify those that you currently possess and consider including them on your resume.

General/Transferrable Skills:

• Empathy
• Trustworthiness
• Open-mindedness
• Sense of Ethics
• Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
• Writing and presentation skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Analytical skills
• Abstract reasoning
• Problem solving skills
• Ability to easily build rapport with others
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership skills
• Teamwork skills
• Organization/time management skills
• Goal setting/prioritizing
• Knowledge of basic techniques of statistical analysis
• General research skills including database searching, synthesizing and interpreting information

Psychology Related Skills:

• Basic understanding of the various disciplines in psychology
• General understanding of major theories and the history of psychology
• Familiarity and experience with research methods, including data collection and analysis
• Knowledge of research ethics
• An understanding of physiological, emotional, cognitive and social determinants of behavior
• Any other specific knowledge and skills related to your completed coursework (ex: Developmental Psychology, Perception Psychology, etc.)

Now it’s time to build your resume. Your resume is a document that should be reviewed and updated each year as you acquire new skills and experiences and solidify your career goal. Below you will find helpful resume writing instructions, along with sample resume formats:

• https://www.thebalancecareers.com/entry-level-resume-examples-2063578
• https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/resumes
• https://www.resume-now.com/templates/psychology/psychology-resume-template

You may select one of the formats from these websites to use; however, the categories listed below must be included in your resume. Caution: you are NOT allowed to use a resume template. Resume templates such as those found in Microsoft Word, etc. do not load properly in Turnitin, and therefore will not be graded.

Resume Categories:

Heading: Include your name and contact information (phone number and professional sounding email address)

Professional Summary: This section should be 1-2 sentences. It should include a career goal (even if a tentative one at this point) and it should communicate to a hiring manager what skills you possess that would contribute to the job. Here you should highlight at least two of your best qualities. For example, are you effective in working in teams, a good leader, or a creative problem solver? An example of a Professional Summary with a career goal is (do not copy this; create one specific to you):

Seeking Behavioral health technician position. Possess demonstrated ability to implement ABA techniques and work effectively in a team environment.

Just a note that a resume should be directed toward the job you are applying for. That means that your career goal, and possibly qualifications related to the job will change in the Professional Profile section each time you submit your resume for a different type of job.

Skills Section: For purposes of this assignment, include at least 6 skills from those you identified in the lists above. You may also include any others you think are relevant to your career goal.

Work History: Start with your most recent job and list jobs held working backward (this is known as reverse chronological order). Include beginning and ending dates of employment (month and year), name of employer with city and state, job duties and any achievements within those jobs.

Education: Start with the most recent school attended and list schools attended working backward (reverse chronological order). Include degree(s) currently in progress and the projected date of completion. Do not include high school information. In this section, you may also include a sub-category and list Relevant Coursework (the names of courses completed within the field of psychology that are related to the career field; not the course numbers)

Activities (optional): List clubs or organizations you have participated in, if any.

Achievements (optional): List any achievements not listed elsewhere.

Note: Do NOT include a list of references on your resume. References should be listed in a separate document and only provided to an employer if asked.

Please be sure to review the resume assignment grading rubric to ensure that your assignment complies with the grading criteria.

When you have completed your reflection assignment and resume, upload it all in one document at the assignment link for grading.

Supporting Materials

• 102 Week 2 Rubric new.docx (15 KB)