More people are turning to online degrees than ever before. Be it a sign of our floundering economy or a matter of pure convenience, the fact remains that an online degree from the comfort of your own home is becoming the preferred method of college education over packing up and moving to a dorm for the next 4 years.

If you are forever wondering how the human mind has developed and operated in relation to behavior and our day-to-day living, an online degree in psychology maybe in your future. Whether out of curiosity or the possibility of future career opportunities, degrees in psychology could open doors that would ordinarily have remained locked.

Online Degree In Psychology – Earning Potential

There’s no denying that a degree in psychology can bring an incredible salary. School related counselors and psychologists in clinical setting can average over $71,000/year. And if you can land a private practice, your hourly rates can go as high as the current market will allow. We’re all crazy! Someone might as well cash in on it. With a health specialist or doctoral degree or applied specialty in counseling, the job demand is not only prime at the moment but promises to continue in the rise for demand. A keen understanding of the human nature is necessary for this field. With the understanding of why people do what they do you will be better qualified in determining just exactly what it is that makes people tick.

And there’s nothing like setting your own hours.  Should you land that private practice we just discussed, you can pretty much be your own boss as well as come and go as you please. Of course you will have patients that need your undivided attention; sometimes on an on call basis. Even in a clinical setting, the scheduling can usually be somewhat flexible.

Online Degree In Psychology – Your Options

An online degree in psychology opens up a vast array of opportunities including but not limited to:

•    Research and experimentation

•    Education/Teaching

•    Health

•    Human services

•    Law/Forensic psychology

•    Sports

•    Counseling

•    School psychologist

•    Clinical psychologist

•    Social psychologists

And best of all, you’ll be helping others. Anyone who enjoys working with people and the rewarding feeling than one can get from assisting their fellow human being would surely enjoy a career started off with one of the online psychology programs.

An online degree in psychology is an investment in you per se. Unlike some stocks and bonds, that degree may end up yielding more rewards in years to come than any trading investments. You are increasing your earning power with that little piece of paper known as an online degree. You may even be protecting your job and in that higher qualifications, broadening of experience, improvement of skills and overall heightening of awareness could go a long way when the higher ups are deciding who can contribute more by staying on staff and who is expendable. In today’s economy, almost anyone is expendable.  Make yourself invaluable instead.

By choosing an online degree in psychology, you’ll be saving gas money, be able to pursue your degree in your own time (either more quickly or at a slower pace than attending classes every day with which you are expected to keep up), and absorb knowledge in a relaxed and effective learning environment of your own making.

If you love how the human mind works, and spend hours contemplating why people make certain life choices, you are a great candidate for the study of psychology. Psychology involves the study of human thoughts, feelings and emotions, and examining individual behavior in various social settings. There are all sorts of reasons people act the way they do, and if you would like to develop your interest in psychology into a stimulating career, you can begin by looking at the level of degrees in psychology.

Basically, there are three levels of degrees in psychology, which prepare you for a professional career in clinical psychology, research, counseling, teaching or another type of highly specialized job. There are a lot of jobs in psychology you can pursue. Most likely, at this stage of the game, you may only have a vague notion of what careers in psychology you would like to pursue with your degree. That’s perfectly fine for now, because the opportunities for someone trained in psychology are numerous. Right now, it’s good enough that you have a basic desire to help people in some way.

Bachelors Degrees in Psychology

Studying for a bachelor’s degree as a psychology major is where you begin to learn the basic concepts of psychology. You’ll need to enroll in a 4-year degree program that will award you with either a B.A. or B.S. in Psychology. During this time, you’ll be taking a concentration of interesting psychology courses along with other requirements. At this stage, you have freedom to choose the courses that interest you the most. You may also begin to get an inkling of what direction you’d like to go in the field of psychology.
After you graduate, your career options will be somewhat limited, because most of the better paying professional jobs require a Masters or Doctorate.

Masters Degrees in Psychology

When you are ready to continue your education, you’re next step is to enroll in a masters program that will help you to narrow your focus on a specific career option. By now, you will have done more research into the type of career you would like and take advanced courses that prepare you for a specialty. If you wish to become a counselor, this is the level of degree that can give you more expertise. However, counseling isn’t the only thing you’ll be able to do. A masters gives you a wide-range of options in the health and human services field, as well as, other sectors like education, law enforcement and even politics.

Doctorate Degrees in Psychology

A doctorate degree puts you in the upper echelon of psychology professionals. While it can take up to 5 years to receive a doctorate, the time and effort you put into obtaining your degree will pay off in numerous ways. You will be looked upon as an expert who is qualified to teach, open an individual clinical practice, work as a therapist, or hold a high-ranking position in private industry or government.

As you can see, it takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work to obtain the necessary education that will provide you with a viable career in the field of psychology. For those who have a passion for helping others, making the commitment to getting degrees in psychology is definitely worth the effort.

Psychology is the study of the human condition, and it can be fascinating and challenging at the same time. Many people think that a psychology degree isn’t as valuable in this day and age, but they would be wrong! Careers in psychology are just as interesting and diverse as career options that are considered more popular. While counseling, therapy, teaching and research are all integral parts of being a psychology professional, how and where you choose to practice your skills is wide open.

While others may be high-tech whizzes or marketing geniuses, it takes a very special person to be able to focus their life’s work on helping others in need. People who specialize in working with others who need urgent mental, physical and social assistance can be deeply rewarding, as well as, economically lucrative for the right individual. Therefore, you should never wonder for one second if careers in psychology are worth pursuing. If your inner voice is telling you to pursue this path, then go for it, because you are going to be among a select group of people who get paid for doing something they love.

Okay, so what types of unique jobs are available for someone looking at careers in psychology and some specialized training?

List Of Careers In Psychology

Art Therapist – If you have a creative spirit, an art therapist career may be perfect for you. Art therapy offers children and adults, who have gone through trauma, an alternative way to release their pent-up feelings. Encouraging clients to express themselves through drawing, painting or clay sculpture helps them to deal with anxiety, depression, stress and feelings of low self-esteem.

Child Psychologist – Child psychologist specialize in helping children who have a variety of emotional and developmental problems. You will need to have a lot of patience and a natural affection for children to be successful in this role.

Community Counselor – If you are open minded and love being around diverse people, you may like the idea of serving as a community counselor. These are professionals who work with individuals, families and groups of people in a particular community to assist them with various social issues. In this role you would most likely be a counselor, teacher, organizer, as well as, a representative for the community with city leaders and organizations.

Forensic or Criminal Psychology Degree – Due to the popularity of TV shows like CSI and Law and Order, there is a lot more interest in forensic psychology than in the past. This career will take you behind the scenes of law enforcement and give you the opportunity to do things like: criminal profiling, provide counseling for mentally ill inmates, researching law enforcement issues, evaluating potential jurors for jury duty and consulting police departments.

Sports Psychologist – Here’s a way to combine a love for both psychology and sports. Often times, the difference between winning and losing in sports competition comes down to mentality. Teams and individual athletes turn to a sports psychologist to help them get over mental barriers, identify and develop specific skills, conduct research, teach goal setting techniques and offer motivation.

Whatever your particular interests, there is a way to match them with your training and education and a number of psychology jobs. Remember this is just a sampling of the specialties available for careers in psychology.

Criminal psychology and forensic psychology are two entirely different disciplines, but they are both very exciting careers to enter.  With so many TV shows based around police investigations, there is a lot of interest in both of these degrees.

What Is A Criminal Psychology Degree?

Criminal psychology basically deals with what goes on inside a criminal’s head and why he committed the crime, and forensic psychologists deal with crime scenes and the victims of crime and tend to work more within the criminal justice system, dealing with crime prevention and systems.

A criminal psychology degree aims to help you understand the reasons why a crime happened.  Many crimes that are reported as “senseless” may not be.  A woman kills her father “for no reason” may turn out to be justified – he had been raping her since she was small!  So criminal psychology is a fascinating subject, with a psychology degree you could be a part of helping the justice system to determine what kind of sentence the woman deserves, after you bring the true facts to light.

Criminal Psychology Degree Education

When choosing a criminal psychology degree course, students will study criminal justice and criminology as a basis for the 4-year course. Continuing on to a master’s degree will get you into the world of profiling.  You will have seen this on TV – where a criminal psychologist will draw up a profile and tell the police who they should be looking for.  At the time it usually leaves a couple of detectives scratching their heads or arguing and disagreeing, but when you know all the things to look for as a criminal psychologist, the answers may not always be obvious.

It is intriguing information that you will compile from crime scenes, and from interviewing the criminals themselves.  You will interview witnesses and victims and talk to the criminal about his upbringing and circumstances.

With a criminal psychology degree you will not only assist police and law enforcement to catch criminals, you may give evidence in court to tell a jury why a crime was committed – as in the case of the woman who murdered her father, mentioned above.  Studying the criminal also gives insight as to why certain crimes happen, and your studies and observances may actually help to prevent a number of crimes.

Criminal Psychology Degree Jobs

There are criminal psychology jobs within the Government, at the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime at Quantico, or you could work in mental institutions or within law enforcement.  You could also become one of those “expert witnesses” called into court. Nearly 30% are self-employed.

It is difficult to say exactly how much a criminal psychologist can earn; it takes a great deal of study in this discipline and up to 7 years to reach PhD level.  It all depends where you work and for whom you work.

It is definitely a fascinating course of study and an exciting career to look forward to.

There are many colleges offering an online criminal psychology degree if you are restrained by a full time job or a family to care for.  A criminal psychology degree leads to exciting career that many will enjoy.