Psychologist
(Female, Age 30) from berkley, MI
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 30 who works as a Psychologist in berkley, MI. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Psychologist |
|---|---|
| Salary | $45,500 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | berkley, MI |
| Years Experience | 6 months |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
A mid sized educational institution in the midwest. It is a public university.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Provide personal and emotional counsleing to students who are currently enrolled for classes. Provide group therapy and workshops re: mental heath issues as well.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
2 weeks vacation, 403b, medical, dental and eye insurance
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
no
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, I see about 4 clients per day and work with other staff and faculty on campus. I do enjoy working one on one with cients but do not enjoy public speaking to classrooms.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I am in an office. I dislike it becasue it is relatively isolated on the 5th floor of an older building. It is difficult for students to locate us.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 3
Benefits: 4
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 6
Supervisors: 2
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 1
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Wake up. Commute to work. |
| 8am to 9am | Arrive at work at 8:30. Prepare agenda for 9:00 meeting. |
| 9am to 10am | Attend staff meeting from 9-11. Discuss difficult clients. Discuss presentatins requested by faculty and who will deleiver them. Discuss referrals for inappropraite clients. |
| 10am to 11am | Continue meeting. |
| 11am to 12pm | Meet with 1 client. Discuss coping strategies. Create schedule with client to aid in studying habits. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Lunch |
| 1pm to 2pm | Meet with 2nd client. Discuss ways to combat depression. Refer to psychiatrist for medication. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Outreach event. Man a table with information re: counseling to students in the lunch area. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Write notes re: clients seen today. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Prep for interviewing potential interns for next year. Develop interview questions. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Commute home. |
| 6pm to 7pm | Arrive home, cook dinner, |
| 7pm to 8pm | Watch tv |
| 8pm to 9pm | Go to bed |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
internet
What was the application process?
electronic application
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I had 1 in person interview with teh full staff. I had to give a 40 minute case presenation and answer general therapy questions in a group interview. I met with the director one on one for 20 minutes as well. The entire process was 1.5 hours.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
How would I work with difficult clients. What mulitcultural experience did I have.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
No. My employer is hands off and does not provide structure or direction.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes. I received a PhD in psychology. It took 5 years and I had to do an internship.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. I had 4 years of training. I felel very prepared becuase we practiced scenarios a lot.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
Yes. It was the best training I received. I had a lot of structure and direction.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
They should enroll in graduate school and receive a msters or PhD in counsleing or psychology or social work. I recommend finding a program that offers fellowships/scholarships.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
They should have excellent social and communication skills becasue they will be working with people all day. They should also be organized because there is a lot of paperwork involved.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
masters
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Recognize that you will not get rich doing this job and there are days you feel burned out. You can’t solve everyone’s problems and it can be difficult helping some people.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
No! I plan to move on ASAP. I do not like the lack of structure at this position.
What are your current career goals?
I want to work at a different counsleing center. I may even do private practice.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
It is fun when there is structure.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | intern | 1 years | 21000 | provided counseling to students, group therapy, outreach presentations to classrooms, |
| Prior Job 2 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:4
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.9 | MSU | psych |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
4 | ISU | psych |
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