1. Do an informational interview or two.
The summer months are a great time to research potential career paths that may be of interest to you. Once you’ve identified one or two psychology related occupations go online and find a professional in your area who practices that particular job title. Contact them and inquire about scheduling an informational interview. The informational interview is essentially that. It’s an opportunity for you to gather information on a specific psychological field including job tasks, skills requirements, and educational qualifications. To learn more about informational interviews go to http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-481-Getting-Ahead-How-Does-an-Informational-Interview-Work/
The summer months are a great time to research potential career paths that may be of interest to you. Once you’ve identified one or two psychology related occupations go online and find a professional in your area who practices that particular job title. Contact them and inquire about scheduling an informational interview. The informational interview is essentially that. It’s an opportunity for you to gather information on a specific psychological field including job tasks, skills requirements, and educational qualifications. To learn more about informational interviews go to http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-481-Getting-Ahead-How-Does-an-Informational-Interview-Work/
2. Prepare for the GREs.
If you’re a rising senior and planning to pursue graduate study in psychology upon completion of your undergraduate degree, you may wish to start preparing for the GRE General Test and the GRE Psychology Subject Test. The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is administered by the ETS (Educational Testing Service) and is a requirement for admission to a majority of master’s and doctoral level programs. To learn more about the GRE, including registration and preparation tips, go to http://www.ets.org/
3. Peruse psychology career websites.
There are many great psychology websites focusing on career exploration, educational opportunities, and scholarly research. Careersinpsychology.org features information on the many sub-fields of psychology as well as factors to consider in choosing a graduate school and how to obtain licensure as a psychologist. The “Online Psychology Career Center” offers a wealth of information for psychology majors including career tips and links to a diverse range of psychology related resources. Go to http://www.socialpsychology.org/ to access the site today!
4. Search for an applied experience in psychology.
In addition to research, teaching and field work are two great ways to acquire some applied experience as an undergraduate psychology major at Maryland.
First, you can investigate serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a course. TAs attend class lectures, conduct review sessions for exams, facilitate discussions, grade assignments, and manage and respond to course related e-mail. To qualify for a TA position a student must have earned a grade of “A” in the course for which they are looking to serve as a TA.
A second applied experience you may want to pursue is an internship. Internships allow students to test drive a particular career path, while learning new skills and honing existing ones. To learn more about the psychology internship process go to http://psychology.umd.edu/ugrad/internships.html
5. Read and subscribe to the PSYC E-News Blog.
The undergraduate psychology department at Maryland communicates pertinent information to students through the PSYC E-News Blog. Here you’ll find postings on internships, research assistant positions, academic opportunities, and much more! Subscribe to the blog today at http://umdpsyc.blogspot.com
