I'm double majoring in Psychology and Sociology (bachelor, skills, degree)

[dazeddude8]

OP in one of your posts you said you are going for a grad degree-excellent, that is what you need to do. The students taking just the in sociology or psych etc... usually have no idea how hard it is to get a job with just the BA. You definitely should go for beyond a bachelors if you want a good shot at success with psych and social work.

Are there grads out there who succeeded with just the BA in psych and social work? Surely there are , but I bet there are more underemployed/unemployed psych and social work majors with just a BA

[Blackscorpion]

Originally Posted by Jonathanp219

Why does everyone assume that ALL Social Workers make a very low wage?

I feel like when people think of Social Workers, the first thing that comes to mind are the people who work for child services that make close to 40K a year (Which in fact is quite low, especially living in NYC). But Social Work has a very wide range; Specifically, I want to pursue a career in psychotherapy.

But one day I do want to own a nice house in a nice suburban neighborhood. Sometimes I contemplate dropping this major altogether, but there isn't really anything else I can do without being incredibly stressed.

Math = stress
Science= stress
English = TONS of work for LESS of what i would make in social work

I'm at a really awkward crossroads right now, and I don't know what to do. I thought I was so sure of myself but im not I suppose.

People with degrees in english make more than someone with a degree in social work, or a social worker

[Jonathanp219]

Or maybe I can major in business administration and go into Human Resources

[luckodeirish]

Originally Posted by G-fused

So young, so much living to do - I envy you.

My wife is a psychologist...PhD. She has a social worker or two in her practice. Their reimbursment rates aren't very high. And, why would I come to you for therapy when I can go to a psychologist? I'm not saying it isn't possible, of course it is but it's a weak education for a psychotherapist. You likely won't be among the competent professionals in that field and your caseload of patients will reflect that. If you want to help people with psychotherapy then consider taking a higher road.

Psychology is a tough field because everyone and their mother thinks it's up their alley. Then when they find out that first, getting into a good doctorate program is uber competative and second, if one gets in they realize it isn't what they thought it was. My wife is and was always brilliant, never scoring below the 99th percentile on any standardized test. She is cute and charming as well. That, mixed with some luck helped her get to where she is today. Be warned, a real psych doctoral program is very far from a touchy feely tell me about your mother kind of thing. There are of course PsyD's and things like that as well that you can look into. All of it really depends on your level of desire, commitment, intelligence, etc.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Got my PhD in clinical psych many moons ago and did private practice....no thanks. As you mentioned, the reimbursement rates are horrible. I will never forget the day that I learned that my hair dresser, who had a high school education and a large black bat tattooed on her chest, was making more per hour than me or my colleagues.
Dumped clinical practice and moved in private industry using my clinical background but in non clinical positions. Best thing I ever did.

[luckodeirish]

Originally Posted by Jonathanp219

Or maybe I can major in business administration and go into Human Resources

It not a bad idea. If you go into HR p,an to find a specific niche position, such as exec comp, group benefits, something like that, not just a generalist.

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Jonathanp219

Or should I minor something else and drop the sociology all together?

If you really want to be a social worker, and your school offers a Bachelor's in Social Work then I would do that. Major in Social Work as an undergrad. You will have advanced standing for grad school and it will take less time. You could minor in Psychology.

I am planning (well at this point, I am not known for decisiveness with regard to academic planning!) on obtaining an MSW but I didn't plan for it so I'll be getting a BA English with a minor in Sociology because it is too late now for me to change my major to Social Work.

Originally Posted by Jonathanp219

Why does everyone assume that ALL Social Workers make a very low wage?

I feel like when people think of Social Workers, the first thing that comes to mind are the people who work for child services that make close to 40K a year (Which in fact is quite low, especially living in NYC). But Social Work has a very wide range; Specifically, I want to pursue a career in psychotherapy.

But one day I do want to own a nice house in a nice suburban neighborhood. Sometimes I contemplate dropping this major altogether, but there isn't really anything else I can do without being incredibly stressed.

Math = stress
Science= stress
English = TONS of work for LESS of what i would make in social work

I'm at a really awkward crossroads right now, and I don't know what to do. I thought I was so sure of myself but im not I suppose.

I wouldn't let too much reading on CD and other places online change your mind if you know what you want to do. I have driven myself crazy with this. Every possible career I have considered has naysayers who say it's a bad choice. Well, except for SLP but for other reasons I probably won't go that route.

A lot of people use the term "social worker" to refer to child protective services workers, who, in fact, do NOT need a social work degree specifically and are hired pretty much with any Bachelor's degree and are not "social workers" in a legitimate sense, society just calls them that. Yes, you can get an MSW and work in that field of social services but you are right, an MSW and LCSW is much more flexible than that. If I follow my social work plans, I have zero interest in working in child services or even working with children at all for that matter.

Originally Posted by luckodeirish

Got my PhD in clinical psych many moons ago and did private practice....no thanks. As you mentioned, the reimbursement rates are horrible. I will never forget the day that I learned that my hair dresser, who had a high school education and a large black bat tattooed on her chest, was making more per hour than me or my colleagues.
Dumped clinical practice and moved in private industry using my clinical background but in non clinical positions. Best thing I ever did.

Not to negate your experience but chances are that hairdresser had been at it a long time, was able to develop a following, or had a lot of natural talent. Or all of the above. Just like any field, I am sure there are mechanics making really good money because they are truly excellent and then there are dozens more just scraping by doing oil changes or working as a shade tree mechanic after their day job. I am thinking of three people I've known in my life who started out right after high school in cosmetology school and only one of them moved on up over the years to fancier and pricier salons, made a name for herself, and really worked hard to parlay her profession into an upper middle class lifestyle. The other two worked for a few years making crap pay cutting hair and then went back to school to do something else.

[Ruth4Truth]

There's someone else with a thread on here on a similar topic, OP. S/he has a BA in sociology, and is debating whether an MA in Psych or an MSW would be best in order to realize a goal of counseling veterans in vet hospitals. That's one thing you can do with your degrees. I think a background in psychology would definitely be helpful. Since you've already decided on the MSW, you have the option of cutting back to simply a minor in psych, if the courseload gets to be too much. But go for the double major if you can. It'll give you more options, in case you discover you prefer psychology.

[jobaba]

Originally Posted by Sally_Sparrow

If you really want to be a social worker, and your school offers a Bachelor's in Social Work then I would do that. Major in Social Work as an undergrad. You will have advanced standing for grad school and it will take less time. You could minor in Psychology.

I am planning (well at this point, I am not known for decisiveness with regard to academic planning!) on obtaining an MSW but I didn't plan for it so I'll be getting a BA English with a minor in Sociology because it is too late now for me to change my major to Social Work.

I wouldn't let too much reading on CD and other places online change your mind if you know what you want to do. I have driven myself crazy with this. Every possible career I have considered has naysayers who say it's a bad choice. Well, except for SLP but for other reasons I probably won't go that route.

I agree. You should ignore the naysayers to some extent. There will be naysayers for every field, just about.

The only thing was he was taken aback when I said that social workers don't make a lot of $. I wanted to be a social worker many years ago too, and that was one stipulation that I made clear to myself, that I was not going to make a lot of $.

I think you have to approach a career with both eyes open about likely pay and job prospects. You shouldn't expect to make too much more than whatever the median is.

[DrEarth]

If you know you want to get a MSW, major in social work as an undergrad, and then you can finish the masters in one year. Less money spent on school.

There is really no reason to double major in those subjects. It will only cost you more money.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Blackscorpion

People with degrees in english make more than someone with a degree in social work, or a social worker

This is true. English is actually a pretty marketable skill nowadays, particularly when you realize that we're in the great age of content development.