What You’re Committing to With a Doctorate in Psychology
A doctorate degree should not be taken lightly. It requires years to achieve, and you will spend several years out of the workforce in order to get it. A doctorate degree should boost your career potential enough for it to be worth it.
How long does it take to earn PhD degrees?
Earning your doctorate can take a long time, sometimes up to six or seven years, depending on your program. Science PhD programs might take less time because they have more funding, and you can commit more of your time to research. As you are accepted into programs, ask how long it took past graduates to finish, on average. Also ask about the normal length of time to finish and if financial aid stops after a certain number of years.
How much work does getting a doctorate require?
Plenty. You will have to write a dissertation and defend it. You will also need to take exams along the way. All of this happens on top of your assistantship or whatever part-time job you take if your financial aid package does not adequately cover your living expenses.
Will I have to teach or work part-time?
It depends. Many graduate school financial aid packages will include a year or even several years as a teaching assistant. This is similar to having work-study as an undergrad. As a teaching assistant, you will either teach lower-level courses or teach sections of large courses for professors. If you are studying in the sciences, you will probably earn your keep working in a lab.
What about working part-time outside the school?
If your school is in an expensive area, then you may need to take up an extra job. This work should further your course of study, such as teaching essay-writing to high school students if you are a grad student in English. If you cannot find work that relates to your program, then you may want to reconsider that program. You need to give yourself plenty of time to focus on your studies.
How will a doctorate degree affect me over the long term?
You will be out of the work force for a long time in order to complete your studies, which might set you back in terms of retirement planning. However, if you love what you study and truly could not imagine doing anything else, then you will increase your career satisfaction. You just need to take a hard look at yourself and what you really want out of life before following the doctorate path.
For more information on graduate schools, visit the career and money section of Life123.com.
This article is a great beginning, but from my experience, graduate school can be a supreme undertaking where you are splitting your time between taking your own coursework, teaching undergraduates, and working on your own research in the form of a thesis, dissertation, or writing manuscripts for publication. Because of the heavy workload, many students opt to attend graduate school full-time, and can do so with the help of a fellowship for financial support. Even still, some students take on extra teaching assignments, research assignments, and other forms work for a bit of a financial boost.
Going to grad school can be an extremely rewarding experience – one that gets you closer to your career goals – but it is important to have a clear understanding of the level of commitment it takes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology.
