Ready to start (or finish) school, but struggling to decide on a degree program? You’re not alone. If you’re curious about the human psyche, and want a field of study that opens a variety of professional opportunities, then consider Psychology. Most importantly, if you desire a flexible class schedule while you complete your degree, then an online Psychology degree may be just the right choice for you.
Why Online Psychology Classes May Be Right For You
There is so much you can do with your online Psychology degree, whether you want to go into the business world, or into business for yourself. Here are three reasons why online psychology classes may be right for you:
Human Resources – this is a fast-growing, and always necessary, part of any corporation. Human resources professionals do everything from hiring and onboarding new employees, to administering benefits packages, to designing and implementing employee wellness programs.
Non-profit and Social Work – if you love to work with and help people who have encountered difficulty in their lives, then this is a great way to put your online Psychology degree to use. Whether its working with children, families, or other individuals, there is no shortage of need for people who want to do this type of work and have the right education to do it well.
Counselor or Therapist – an undergraduate degree in psychology can be a stepping stone to a rewarding career as a personal counselor or therapist. Each state has different requirements to become a licensed counselor, but your online Psychology degree should fulfill most of the basic educational requirements. Your professor or academic advisor can help you determine what else you need to do to get ready for the state-specific testing.
Graduate Study or Medical School – if you are interested in pursuing the medical side of psychology, say as a psychiatrist, then an online Psychology degree can prepare you for that as well.You may also want to pursue further study, such as earning a Master’s Degree or Doctoral degree, both of which will open up many more career options and future earning potential.
The content of many Psychology courses is well-suited for online study
Even with all of the advances in technology over the last decade or so, it still remains true that some academic subjects are better suited to online study than others. Psychology is one degree that many find well-suited to teaching and learning through online classes. Individual professors and courses may vary, of course, but much of the subject matter of a psychology lecture presents well via a Powerpoint or similar type of visual presentation. Also, psychology is very research-based, so student assignments such as papers can be completed outside of class, and be easily submitted online. Finally, where face-to-face communication is necessary and desirable, new streaming video resources make it feel like professors and students are all in the same room, easily facilitating back and forth discussion of the material.
The Field of Professional Psychology Is Increasingly Conducted Online
If you are interested in the field of psychology, and you would like to practice it in some way in order to earn a living, then you have probably observed that more work is able to be done – or done entirely – online. Here are a few examples:
Human Resources – many companies, especially small businesses, cannot afford a full-time Human Resources professional on staff. For that reason, they outsource many of the job’s functions to third-party technology-based resources, such as those offered by Zenefits and Gusto. That is, potentially, great news for anyone interested in pursuing an online Psychology degree, as there are plenty of jobs in this growing field.
Counselors and Therapists – it may (or may not) surprise you, but there is a growing amount of counseling and therapy work that is conducted where the counselor and patient are never in the same room. It could take place over the “old-fashioned” telephone, but increasingly it takes place over video messaging services such as FaceTime or Skype. If you have not heard of it, check out a service called TalkSpace. This is a fast-growing service that pairs individuals with licensed counselors and therapists. It makes the service more affordable for patients – a very good thing – and opens up an entirely new way for counselors and therapists to offer their services.
Research and Continuing Education – it used to be that only students and professionals with access to special databases could access the wealth of published academic research about the field of psychology. Now, anyone can do it. If you are looking to lead or participate in research that could be vital to the growth of your field of psychology, then it is easier than ever to do so. Furthermore, you can now quickly and easily share the results of your work online. If you want to be a professional in the world of psychology, there may never have been a better time in history.
Are you ready to get started on your Online Psychology degree? If so, Point University can help. Point offers both an Associate of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and you can complete both of them in a fully-online format.