Ooo! Now begins the interesting bit! I realized that in our previous blogs we’ve been focusing on the downsides of being a psychologist. And if you’ve managed to remain undeterred even after absorbing all that information, congrats! Psychology is definitely your thing! So, in this blog I’ve decided to put more emphasis on the ‘plus points’ of being a psychologist, because obviously, you need to know both pros and cons of something to personally analyze it.

1.Job Satisfaction

If you are someone who is looking forward to earning a living by helping people, then you should definitely consider being a therapist! What’s more, as a therapist you’ll be offered the opportunity to work with clients with various emotional and mental difficulties, and their satisfaction is your satisfaction. The job can be extremely gratifying and heart-warming.

2.Come across exciting new challenges!

The absence of boredom is something that is guaranteed if you choose to pursue this challenging domain. Everyday, you will come across various clients who face difficulties in their own way, making them all unique! This is due to the fact that every individual has a varied set of intelligences and ways of coping up with problems. It should be interesting to research, analyze and come up with a conclusion for each of them.

3.Vast array of opportunities/ career choices

The field of psychology is a rapidly surging domain, with an increasing number of opportunities! Even our fellow Indians are now beginning to grasp the sheer gravity of mental health, which surely is a great improvement. Psychology is used in almost every domain out there, clinical, immunology, mental health, criminology, law, education, sports, business, to name a few.

4.High earning potential

Although fees shouldn’t be the first concern you have when you think about pursuing a career, I guess it's safe to say that we all love being secure in terms of money. Being a psychologist means that your earning can range from $55,000 – $125,000 (the statistics may vary), which in my opinion is a pretty decent amount!

5.Flexible working hours

This is probably the most essential pro when it comes to being a therapist. You can arrange your working schedule that’s the most convenient for you and your client. What’s more, sitting in your workplace from 9-5 is absolutely not required for this job.

6. You understand yourself better

Being a psychologist comes with a deeper knowledge about human behavior, which means you will be fully capable to analyze your own self! You’ll develop skills like adapting to your circumstances, resolve internal/personal conflicts and low-key know how to take care of yourself.

Alright, now let’s briefly touch on a few cons of being a psychologist, because there are always 2 sides of a coin, and educating yourself in both helps you to better understand the field.

1. Dealing with patients can emotionally drain you

We’ve already discussed this point in our blog ‘challenges of being a psychologist’. However, this matter is so important that it’s worth mentioning twice. Throughout your career as a therapist, you are exposed to dealing with patients with traumas/ experiences in mental or physical abuses etc. and listening to these stories can get quite troublesome and emotionally challenging for the therapist.

2. Extensive education and training

Being a professional psychologist requires you to complete 4 years as an undergrad, followed by a doctoral degree that takes 5-7 years. Apart from this, you’ll also need experience as an intern for 1 or 2 years. Although this can be stressful, if you are willing to put your effort and time, it shouldn’t be as difficult.

9.Your profession can get a little lonely

Psychologists specialize in dealing with patients, and it's often just them and their clients. With the ‘confidentiality’ thing in existence, you won’t be able to disclose anything to your colleagues or friends. Oftentimes, therapists find it difficult to ‘unplug from work’ and this can affect them as they develop a tendency to ignore their own social and emotional wellbeing.

4. Irregular work hours

Although having a flexible working schedule is a great thing, irregularity of the job indicates that a steady flow of clients visiting you won’t be guaranteed. This is something you might need to look at especially if you are planning on having an organized timing everyday for your clients.

5. Setting up your own business can sometimes stress you out

The facility to start a business as a psychologist is obviously an advantage and something that most professionals in this field tend to do, and do end up becoming exceedingly successful. However, setting up this practise can come across as a little exhausting. The additional things like billing, paperwork, collecting payments, that you have to look at can be challenging because as a psychologist, you’ve specialised in dealing with people not business

That about sums up the ‘advantages and disadvantages of being a psychologist’. And obviously like any other field, if you are truly passionate about psychology and are willing to put in your all, these disadvantages that I have listed above shouldn’t seem to have fazed you.

Check out our previous blog “challenges of being a psychologist’ to know more about the cons of choosing psychology.