Professional Development Opportunities Plan
After researching various professional development opportunities, what short term plan of action (1-3 years) will you take to remain current in your field? Be sure to address networking, professional organizations, journals, continued education, etc.
Possible careers: Career Path 1 I wish to become a psychology teacher at one of the famous universities in the United States of America. I want to teach psychology in abnormal psychology, neuropsychology, abnormal psychology, or behavioral evolution.
After terminating my training and graduating, I would be eager to join the American Psychological Association (APA) to network my career and acquire educational chances. As well, I am striving to achieve such dreams within the shortest time, considering that the number of psychology teachers is rising fast and is estimated to be 16% by 2024 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018).
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that psychology teachers’ salary scale was $70,260 to $133,810 per year by 2015 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). The lowest educational qualification for a psychology teacher in college or university level training.
The teacher is expected to have a degree, masters, or doctoral in psychology-related courses and working experience of between 2 to 5 years. At the College or University teaching, there is no license required. In addition, I may become an associate in the APA is essential to proceed with education by holding conferences.
Career path 2 Alternatively, I would wish to become a Cognitive and Behavioral Psychologist. This career requires a bachelor’s degree, masters, or doctoral educational achievements and working experience of not less than five years.
The profession does not require licensing. However, in the case where one is pursuing clinical counseling, one would need a license from the state or a working certificate. I may also become an affiliate of the APA and acquire more expertise and experience through conferences and networking.
As well, I may gain more experience from sub-fields such as cognitive neuropsychology, reasoning, and cognition in areas of the mind, decision-making, behavior study, and learning. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics in the United States posits that cognitive psychology jobs may rise to 22% by 2024 (2018). The behavioral and cognitive psychologists have a salary scale of $77,030 per year (2018), which is subject to rise after serving for at least seven years.
