My Journey in Psychology, Ch. 3
Logan Brown
Utah State University
As a Psychology Student, I have a LOT of leeway on how I shall use my degree. There’s quite a few ways to explore my career opportunities; I could look through various job descriptions for specific necessities that the employer asks for which a degree in psychology would make me uniquely qualified. That’d be pretty simple. I could also look at the jobs previous psychology majors have obtained. That’d take a little more work, but it’d probably lead to better results. I could even look at the areas often entered, the types of employers in those areas, and then look at the strategies previous psychology majors have used to prepare for entering into occupations at those employers; this has already been done by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Career Services Office already, so I don’t have to do it. Thank god. Or, if I’m lazy, I could just use the USU Career Center.
At the Career Center, they have some options that allow me to explore my options for the future, whether it is grad school, or a career with a psychology bachelor’s degree. They have career assessments, which they say gives you a specific “snapshot of you” in each test. Some of these can be taken and gone over alone, but others require professional interpretation. The later sounds a tad convoluted, if you ask me. They also have one-on-one career coaching with their awesome super-well trained career services coaches. You’ll take time to talk with them as they get to know you, and they help you look at yourself in different lights to give yourself a better view on what might be a good fit for you. You could just check out the employment and salary information that they, at the career center, have so judiciously compiled for us all. You just have to search by your college (inside of USU) and your major. Simple… once you’ve done it, you should have a cookie. I did. It’s helped me realize and narrow down what I’d like to do, insomuch as it has influenced my class choices for next semester. If that doesn’t make me a more savvy psychology major, I dare you to tell me what WILL.
Online, I have other options as well. I could check out other colleges, try out personality tests (there’s the neo, the BFI-54 {aka the Big Five Inventory of 54 questions} and many others!), or even just check out websites like jobs.utah.gov or monster.com. There are tons of options, some of which I may have to pay for. However, why would anyone pay for such sophomoric results when they have a whole college’s resource center at my fingertips? I certainly won’t. Why? Because I already have a pretty good idea of where I’m going. That’s right… it’s time for a transition.
I plan on going into the military. I’ve already filled out the paperwork for my top secret security clearance, and I have friends who work at the acceptance office. Yeah, that’s right… the guy who decides if I’m worthy is my buddy. How sweet is that? Anyways, if you want to get specific, I plan on heading into the Navy to become a SEAL. But that’s not even my end game. I plan on using my degree in psychology (with an emphasis on behavior) to apply to become an officer, and then hopefully train other SEALs or Special Forces units. They’re the top-of-the-line soldier, ready to be deployed from the SEa, Air, or Land. They do special missions, which I have only heard of briefly. If I were to elucidate the exact nature, I’d probably have to kill you, my reader. Not really… but seriously. It’s Top Secret. If I don’t make it into the SEALs, I plan on trying out for the Diver program or EOD, aka Explosive Ordinance Disposal; that’s pretty simple; they dispose of explosives. Sweet. My older brother is a Diver, aka a Salvor. They perform a myriad of duties, from salvage to underwater welding and everything in between. They pretty much own the ocean. I could put my behavioral degree to good use in any of these. If I don’t make seals though, I hope to go to grad school under the banner of the military; I can only hope that it will ease my entry, because I don’t think I’ll get in otherwise with my GPA as it stands.
USU’s Psychology department is trying to make the program develop certain skills relevant to our future careers (it’s just another reason that I think our career department and Psychology departments are the best place to start when looking for a job). Anyway, the ones that I think will help me the most in a military standpoint are thinking and problem-solving skills, adaptability, and information gathering & synthesis skills. As a member of the Special Forces (yes, the SEALs, Divers, and EOD are all Special Forces under the Navy) I’ll need to be highly adaptable to whatever situation comes my way; I’ll need to be quick in my use of proper logic and problem solving in many situations. Again, if I were too specific, I’d have to do bad things. Realistically, just turn this paper into a Classified Document. Then you wouldn’t be able to read it, which would be no fun. Suffice it to say, half of my job would involve information gathering, not to mention analysis and synthesis of such information into viable plans for our continued operations. To be honest, I entered this class with this plan. All of my papers so far have alluded to it, and I feel like I am going to be a competitive candidate because of my studies.
As I said above, I’ve written my previous papers with this in mind. Meaning, all of my values that I wrote about in the previous chapter are implicitly incorporated into my plans. However, the best plans a man plans can go awry, and I could end up not entering the military. Sad day.
If I don’t make it into the military for some reason, I will still need to be marketable to other employers. That means I’ll have to go through the dreaded “interview.” According to the website Prof. Dahl pointed me to, employers look at a psychology major’s application for social, personal, and communications skills that the applicant has. If I (or any other psychology major for that matter) take full advantage of my opportunities, I’ll have those three skill types in spades… not to mention most others that they look at, albeit less heavily.
If I work hard and interact with my fellow students (which is practically required to do well) then I’ll have great social and communication skills; not to mention all the ‘socials’ and parties that psychology majors attend or throw. They’re fun, and they benefit my future! Whoever said learning isn’t fun must have never taken psychology at USU. My personal skills will be largely based upon the qualitative and quantitative benefits gained from specific classes I choose; in effect, I am choosing the page I turn to in my Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book of my life with each class I take. Thank god for advisors… Why can’t I get help from people who’ve already read those stupid books? Oh well. They’re not important, like my classes are. Or the research opportunities I gain from hob-knobbing with my professors. Or even the volunteer opportunities I hear about from the professors! My goodness. Professors seem to be an invaluable resource. I hereby declare next week to be “thank-a-professor” week. Expect cookies.
Now, these skills that most employers ask for are not necessarily specific to my field; I know the first requirement to my future job is to sign up. They’ll test me on my athleticism, and my psychological well-being. (Oh joy! I TOTALLY went to school for this!) I’ll have to swim 500 yards in under 12 minutes and 30 seconds… I’m right around 11:45, and hoping to get down to ten. After my swim, I’ll have a ten-minute rest, and then perform a minimum of 42 pushups in 2 minutes. I can do over 90, but after the swim will be another matter. I’ll have two minutes to rest, then I’ll have to perform 52 situps; again, in 2 minutes. I’m shooting for at LEAST 60. Go me. But wait… after another 2 minute rest, I’ll have to do a bare minimum of 6 pull-ups, and without a time limit! Last but definitely not least, I’ll have to run one and a half miles in under 11:30. I used to run a lot, and I’m getting back into it. This will probably be the hardest part. Psychologically, I’ll have to fit a certain profile; I’ll have to have a striving to be the very best. I’ll have to be stronger than the man next to me, and capable of enduring when no end is in sight. I’ll have a battery of tests run on me; nobody will be specific, but I’m pretty sure they make sure that they don’t hire serial killers. That’s about it.
If I want to be the best, I’ll have to be skilled, dedicated, and focused. I’ll have to be stronger, faster, and smarter than my opponents. I’ll have to be prepared, and USU can help me do that.
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