Crossroads in Psychology

One of my attorney friends expressed it best when he mentioned I have gained the years of professional experience that will ultimately help to put me in the position I desire. The truth is that I was one of the fortunate ones. I knew from the beginning of my journey that I wanted to become a psychologist. But, I didn’t always know this.

My journey started 13 years ago in Illinois. I was working as a Project Impact teacher and advocate for troubled children and adolescents re-integrating into the regular school environment. I had also been bartending at a local corner restaurant in Springfield, Illinois for nearly 3 years before I started my work in the schools. I had been thinking and planning as I spoke to my bar “clients”, both young and old for all those years. I suppose I wanted to help people solve their problems, partly because I was given their trust fairly easily and partly because of the challenges it inevitably presented. Throw in a little bit of my analytical scientific nature and the general wisdom I had accrued from my short quarter of a century of experiences and you have before you a budding psychologist in training.

Four years later I enrolled in a graduate program in Charleston, South Carolina. The program offered two terminal graduate degrees at the end of about a three to five year committment to the coursework and a full year internship. Since, I was working in the field as a therapist and several other roles, it took me a little longer. But, I finished and am glad I took the time, since for me, I continued to study the fundamentals and underpinnings of Psychology on my own, even outside of the classroom.

Today, I look back and realize I have been fortunate enough to continue to be passionate about the field of psychology. I have two more years of training at the doctoral level, one full year of teaching at the graduate level, and several years of professional experience as a school psychologist under my belt. Now, I am on my final internship before being granted my doctorate in psychology.  I have a whole new respect for the folks who have gone this route in life. After all of these years, I have been given a variety of positions in which to take new and specialized perspectives to where I am headed. I now see my opportunities with a bigger perspective and am glad to have selected all of the opportunities that I could on my way.

As a member to a handful of professional organizations and associations, I often come across forums and listservs regarding topics we all must consider (e.g. money, requirements, professional advancement) at some point. Just recently, I came across a thread of commentaries on the monetary difficulties of being a doctoral psychologist. As this is in my near-sighted future, I read on to note that people claim the financial accolades vary tremendously based on location, specialization, and experience. I imagine that this is true of every field. However, the thread was mainly complaining that psychologists often do not make the salaries they deserve, especially after all the years of training.

As I read the host of vents complaints, I realized that I have completed a decade of my own formalized training from my pre-medical years at Augustana and Redlands to my clinical and school psychology training at The Citadel and my now capstone doctoral expeience at PCOM.  I agree that the amount of time, energy, and money that has gone into my pursuits has been astronomical. I’m simply fortunate that I stuck with it and tried daily to see the rewards at the end of these struggles. I know that it’s not a road for everyone and I also see, first-hand, the committments, sacrifices, and great compromises that people have endured to become doctors of psychology. It’s somewhat of an eye-opener when you come across a degree of accomplishment. But, it’s even more meaningful when you cross those roads with gratitude and appreciation.