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Thinking Critically About Careers in Psychology
writing, library research, or statistical analysis; services for diagnosing and assisting with
the accommodation of specific learning disabilities; mental health counseling; career
counseling; and volunteer placement. Students learn about many of these offices and
services during their undergraduate years, but this learning tends to be a haphazard process.
A systematic introduction to the full set of services that contribute to student success might
reduce the frequency with which some students get sidetracked in their academic work.
Many students do not fully understand the contribution of cocurricular activities to
their education. They may naïvely believe that a college education is composed of the
courses that appear on their transcript and any other activities are mere entertainment.
Worse, these students may perceive cocurricular activities as distractions that interfere
with course work, outside employment, family obligations, or social life. These students
fail to engage in these activities and do not gain the full benefit of the educational experi-
ences available at their college or university.
An introductory careers course provides an opportunity to highlight and market cocur-
ricular activities in the department. The course can promote collaborations between stu-
dents and faculty on research projects by providing information about faculty research
interests and encouraging students to identify research projects that are currently under
way. Students need to learn about volunteer service and internship opportunities, some of
which might be unique to the campus community. They need to know the procedures for
obtaining academic credit for these experiences that take place outside the classroom.
Students need to be told about the benefits of acculturation to the profession through
participation in student organizations and clubs related to psychology. Too often, naïve or
introverted students learn about the important benefits of cocurricular activities and dis-
cover these resources too late to make full use of them before graduation.
A small number of seniors enrolled in the careers course as an elective. In their written
evaluations of the course, they expressed regret that this course did not exist when they
were beginning their psychology major. They stated that although they had learned most
of the information in the course by the time they enrolled, they believed they would have
benefited had they known this information sooner. New majors enrolled in the course
wrote comments on course evaluations that expressed appreciation for the information
provided in the course and expectations that the course would help them succeed in sub-
sequent courses. Staff in the psychology office commented that students now seem to ask
fewer questions about “basic things” when they call the office for help.
Although an introductory careers course might provide students with a road map for
their undergraduate activities, a capstone careers course would provide students with a
mechanism for integrating their undergraduate experiences. Students need to become
more specific about their job choice rather than just have a vague idea of what they would
like to do when they graduate. Too often, students enter a graduate program without any
idea of the differences between programs, or seek jobs without understanding how the
skills they have developed during their undergraduate studies could be applied to the
workforce. Because students change in a variety of ways during their undergraduate careers,
a careers course offered as a senior capstone course has the advantage of enabling students
to explore career options and make career decisions based on their current skills, interests,
and abilities. Students in a capstone course should prepare materials that they will
immediately use to assist them in achieving the next step in their academic careers as they