Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to help you gather at least some of the information you will need to make decision about your own career path in psychology. Many students are unsure what they want to do with their degree, and whether graduate school is right for them. The opportunity to talk to someone in the field can be helpful in deciding if a particular path is right for you. This task is consistent with Course Learning Outcomes 5 and 6: Recognize the research training required in all areas of study within Psychology; Understand the variety of careers for which a Psychology Bachelor’s degree is appropriate, as well as the requirements and training involved in different graduate programs within Psychology
Skills
The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice the following skills that are essential to your success in this course, in school, in this field, and in your professional life beyond school:
Carry out a professional interview with an individual with a job/career in a psychology related field
Apply the knowledge gained to your own career planning
Knowledge
This assignment will also help you to become familiar with the following important content knowledge in this discipline:
Job requirements of specific careers in psychology
Typical daily activities of persons in psychology related professions
Pros and cons of specific careers in psychology
Tasks
Identify someone who is working in a career or job that is related to the field of psychology and that interests you. The person you interview should have at least a Masters degree in Psychology. Potential interviewees could be a psychology teacher from your high school, a family friend that is a psychotherapist, a psychologist that you or a family member went to, or a psychology professor in our or other departments. There are professors with psychology degrees working in departments like sociology, child and family studies and criminal justice.
Arrange for an opportunity to interview them about their career, keeping the guidelines provided below in mind.
During the interview:
Show interest and respect toward the interviewee
Ask open-ended questions, i.e. questions that do not have a simple Yes/No answer, such as “What do you like about your job?” This open-ended question is better than “Do you like your job?” as it will get you more than a one word response, and provide more of the information you are looking for
Avoid asking questions about their personal life
Avoid using “inflammatory” language (like swear words or political statements)
Ask questions about training and education; early decisions that were important in the career; life experiences that influenced career choice
Ask questions about “pros” and “cons” of career
Ask questions about their typical daily activities
Ask questions about their current career goals, and career trajectory
Ask “What would you say to a student interested in a job like yours or your profession?”
Feel free to supplement with questions of your own. Go with the flow of the interview.
Write up a summary of the interview and finish with a paragraph about your personal reaction to the information gathered in the interview
Note, that as your instructor, I cannot be interviewed for this assignment
Click Submit Assignment in the upper right to choose the upload type for your assignment, then click Submit Assignment to complete the submission.
Submission Format
Please submit your assignment by uploading a Microsoft Word Document or a PDF file.
Time Frame
This assignment should take no more than 1 hour to complete. The Interview with a Professional assignment will open on Monday February 21 at 9.00 am (PST) and is due on Sunday May 1 at 11.59 pm (PST) in Week 13. Even though you have many weeks to complete your interview and write it up, you should start working on it right away. It takes time to locate a suitable person, and to arrange to meet with them. Professional psychologists are busy people and they don’t like to be rushed and may not agree to something last minute. Also, sometimes people cancel at the last minute.
Criteria for Success
A good interview provides you with detailed knowledge about a particular job or career such that you will be able to decide if this is the job/career for you. The Interview with a Professional assignment is worth 10 points.
