Expert: Jean M Mahan - 7/18/2010

Question
Hello, I am 23 years old and am just starting my first year of college majoring in Psychology. I'm going for my associates degree. I am also interested in Forensics and Law enforcement. I am curious about a few things. First what career choices are there for Psychology and Criminal Law? Another What type of degree would i need and in what to pursue this? Thank you .

Answer
Congratulations on starting college. As time passes and you take various courses you may develop an interest in a specific part of the field of Psychology. There are many options, even business' use psychology in sales and customer service and researching. In fact any time you work with the public, psychology is a valuable asset. To work as a counselor or therapist, all the behavioral knowledge in the world will not help your clients without your ability to relate and to persuade. After all, people only come to a psychologist when all the things they have tried to "fix" the problem have failed. So the psych must be able to persuade people. This persuasion is to try a different way of thinking, act in a different way. Not easy for people, none of us. People act in different patterns based on their family origins. You need to understand the dynamics of group behavior, patterns of relationships are the key. Take any volunteer or intern type of work, as many different areas as you can manage, while obtaining your degrees. This experience will help tremendously for you to narrow down your specific interest. But I digress somewhat from your question.

Now in the field of Forensics or Law Enforcement; Parole Officer, Probation Officer, Prison Psychologist, Prison counselor, Addiction counselor, Policeman, Detective, or a private practice that specializes in the psychological evaluation of criminal behavior while incarcerated, court evaluation of mental stability, expert witness in court. Then there are extensive fields in research; psychophysiology, group behavior, social behavior, brain injury, mental illness testing and evaluation. Any type of research demands some pretty heavy math courses.

A Bachelor's degree can get your foot in the door for some careers in law enforcement and prisons/jails. A minimum of a Master's degree is required if you want to go into any kind of counseling or therapy work. A Ph.D. is required in most states for private practice or for court evaluations or for testing or for research. After you gain your Bachelor's degree, take a good look at various universities. Many if not most universities will not give you credit for the courses you took to gain a Master's if you then decide to pursue a Ph.D.. That's right, you just lose two years worth of school. So  my advice is to decide before you complete the Bachelor's whether or not you will want a Ph.D.. You can obtain a Bachelor's and a Master's going to school part-time, but a Ph.D. has to be full-time. Hope this info helps.