Get PSYCH’d: The 8 Things Every Psych Major Hears

Welcome to the first installment of my new series ‘Get PSYCH’d’, a series themed around my life as a psychology major. Maybe I’m self-absorbed, but I find being a psych major is very fascinating and there’s a lot to talk about. Today, we kick it off with the top 8 things myself and all other psych majors constantly hear. Don’t feel too bad if you’ve said some of these phrases, we hear them all the time! I’m just here to debunk the stigma behind some of them.

(Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash)

1. So, can you read my mind? Man, wouldn’t that make my life easier. Sadly, we psych majors cannot read minds. However, we’ll read your body language and other nonverbals just as any other person would. The only difference would be psych majors understand the human mind and behaviors, so we’ll link together patterns of behavior and stories of the past to realize why you act the way you do. Fun!

2. Diagnose me! I have three semesters of a psych degree under my belt, do you really want to know what I think? I know all the basic symptomatology as anyone else would, so my guess is as good as yours!

3. I have these symptoms, what’s wrong with me? Again, my guess is as good as yours, but self-diagnosing can be a real issue. It erases and trivializes the reality of living with psychological disorders. Just because you like to write in your planner in different colors does not mean you have OCD, or if you’re sad your boyfriend broke up with you does not mean you’re depressed. If you actually believe you have a mental illness and want professional help, speak to a licensed clinician with way more training than I have.

4. It’s such an easy major! I’m up to my neck in research papers as I write this. Sure, your introduction to psychology class was an easy A and you understand the bare minimum of classical conditioning. But the names, theories, and studies pile up. To have any chance at getting into a doctorate program, I’m planning my first independent research project. I’m nineteen and hypothesizing about human behavior in a way that is practical with my resources, my hair is falling out.

5. There are soooo many psych majors. Roughly 110,000 graduates in the year 2016 graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. 45% of those graduates went on to earn a graduate degree. Those are the numbers we are up against. Less than half of graduates continue the education they need to in order to work in the field. With so many psych undergraduates and so few graduate school openings, there is heavy competition between us. The reality of the situation is a bachelor’s degree in psychology will not get you very far.

6. What can you do with a psych degree? Uhh, not much unless you continue on to a graduate or doctorate program. To actually pursue a job that is somewhat related to all of the courses you paid for for four years, you have to go to school for a little longer. A master’s degree along with licensure will get you places in the field, but a PhD is where the good stuff is at.

7. I could never listen to people’s problems all day. Good thing that’s not what all psychology majors are good for! A booming field in psychology is IO psychology, meaning industrial and organizational psychology. These are the people who work within business management and keep the whole operation running smoothly because, well, people are hard to work with. IO psychology centers around understanding people in order to have the most productive, successful workplace possible.

8. Psychology isn’t a science! Psychology isn’t a science like biology and chemistry are, but it’s still a social science. How do you think psychologists come up with theories? Hypothesizing. How do you think psychologists test their hypotheses? Research. How do you think research is conducted? Experiments and correlations. How do you think experiments and correlations are carried out? The scientific method. What is something that follows the scientific method? A SCIENCE.

All in all, next time you encounter a psychology major, don’t respond in a cliche way. Ask them what branch of psychology they want to pursue, and then offer them a hug, because they’re probably very stressed out.

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