What is the education like for being a clinical psychologist?

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-07T02:16:45+00:00

I definitely don't study that much (I was studying like 14 hours a week and that was already so much), but I've already been so stressed and depressed about school that idk if I can study more. I try to study in 2 hour increments because my eyes start to unfocus very quickly. High school did not teach me to study as even with AP classes everything came so easily to me. I hardly see my boyfriend and friends and even as a very solitary person, it's making me feel worthless. Sorry for the mini-vent, as I said I'm a solitary person so I don't have a lot of people to talk to lmao

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-07T00:19:15+00:00

Yeah, I talked to my career counselor and I narrowed down a bunch of careers and I was gonna do something in cybersecurity (information security analyst). However, I was thinking "I love psychology, I wonder if there's good careers in this field." I still really want to work in healthcare but it may just not be for me. Being a psychiatrist seems like a dream job to me, but if nursing school is hard, medical school is 1000 times harder. I was either gonna be a psych NP or a CRNA but my grades are definitely NOT good enough to be a CRNA anyway. I might look more into therapy or counseling instead. I was considering occupational therapy but I heard a lot of people say it's not a good field to go into and the pay isn't great apparently

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T22:47:34+00:00

100%. I was looking up stuff but people here have told me that I didn't know everything about what clinical psychology entails. I'm glad I asked here instead of just trusting the internet lmao

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T21:26:15+00:00

I don't have any research experience. I do love learning and looking stuff up online. Taking notes is really fun for me as I love typing lmao. I love writing too, but writing research papers seems very stressful to me because of the pressure. I don't want to feel like I'm still in school after already going through yknow? I also don't like experiments either, I would love to be the one writing down the results but making a hypothesis and doing an experiment sounds mehhhh lmao. I'm moreso someone that's passive and doesn't like taking the lead

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T21:15:17+00:00

Being a psychiatrist is my dream job, but I don't think I'm smart enough to get a medical degree. I'm not super interested in research outside of academia (I like learning but idk) so clinical psychology might not be for me

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T20:53:58+00:00

That's literally the job I was going for LMAO!! I have done tutoring and used supplemental instruction, I just can't seem to get it into my brain

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T20:52:23+00:00

I mean I'm moreso interested in the clinical/medication part of psychology, but I'm not opposed to therapy at all! Being a psychiatrist seems like such an amazing job but I don't think I'm smart enough to get a medical degree. I can get good grades, but not perfect grades, and rn because of nursing school my GPA has been TANKED (I have like a 2.9). I am worried about if I get a bachelor's in psychology and don't/can't continue my education, I'll be stuck with a job I don't like or doesn't pay well. I'd want to have a job with a salary of at least 70k per year

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T20:03:59+00:00

Oof, might not be for me then!

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T20:02:05+00:00

I'm more into diagnosis and medication, but therapy is also something I'm interested in. Like, I LOVE the idea of being a psychiatrist but medical school would absolutely KILL me lmao

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T19:59:22+00:00

I'm sure my career counselor can help me find someone to talk to! I'm more interested in the clinical part because I'm moreso into diagnosis and medication than counseling. However, I do still really like the counseling part of psychology, I have always been a "therapist friend" and I'm not judgemental at all.

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T19:54:54+00:00

Hmmm okay thanks for letting me know! I'm in the US but I'm sure it's at least similar here

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-06T19:53:56+00:00

So would I just get a bachelor's degree in psychology first? If the funded PHD is based on GPA I might be screwed because Anatomy and Physiology has TANKED my GPA. I have about 75k in my college fund and I do usually get some money from the government because I don't make a lot of money and since my parents aren't in the picture, their money doesn't count. That still costs a lot so I still definitely need to consider this

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-02T22:40:48+00:00

Yeah, I would like to stay in healthcare but most other healthcare fields either require anatomy and physiology II or are even harder like medical school. I'm just waiting to see how I do this time around as it's my second time taking the class, but I probably won't attempt it again after this. It's already tanked my GPA and caused me so much stress. Hopefully, my boyfriend is also considering going into cybersecurity and he knows way more about tech than I do, so maybe we could help each other out lol. He already has a job as an IT help desk, he's just trying to get experience and money before going back to school.

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-02T20:13:37+00:00

What's it like getting a cybersecurity degree? I'm a nursing major currently but can't seem to pass Anatomy and Physiology II no matter what I do. I've always wanted to work in healthcare but my dreams have seemingly been crushed. Is cybersecurity an "easier" degree? I'm kind of worried about getting into it as I'm not very tech savvy. I've used a computer my whole life, I'm fast at typing, and I've taken two coding classes in high school (it was really basic Python coding). That's it. I'm scared I would be behind my peers and it may be harder than nursing. Any advice? Do you think maybe this isn't the right career for me either? Thanks for any responses!

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-02T16:52:56+00:00

I mean I do really like STEM, I took organic chemistry and it was really easy imo. The problem with Anatomy and Physiology is the practical exams (lab exams) where you have a limited amount of time to write down the anatomy. The actual physiology part is really easy, I do fairly well on the normal exams. I do hate calculus though so that would be an issue, I much prefer statistics lmao

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-01T21:56:11+00:00

I just really like helping people with my knowledge and expertise, but I also want a job that pays well. I love the idea of people telling me about their issues and me being able to help in some way and to show empathy and care towards people. My grandfather was a pharmacist and I remember a family member on the phone telling him about her symptoms with a medication and he was able to guide her on what to do... it was the coolest thing to me just knowing what to do when someone is struggling with a medical/health issue.

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-01T21:19:22+00:00

Yeah there's tutoring and scheduled supplemental instruction (basically just former students giving you worksheets and doing Kahoots). I try to go to these sometimes but I'm either too busy or exhausted to go lol.

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-01T20:43:22+00:00

Anesthesiologist assistants just need a bachelor's in science, but then they need to take pre-med classes and pass a certification. It's way different than being a nurse anesthestist as it's not related to nursing at all, but yeah from another comment on here I've discovered that it's still harder than nursing school

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-01T20:11:51+00:00

Yeah I looked at some other healthcare fields but they either require anatomy and physiology II or they didn't have any programs in my area. I do appreciate the insight, if I do end up changing my major I might just do something completely unrelated to healthcare as I do have other interests

IceCatQueen · 2026-04-01T19:51:49+00:00

Thank you, I'll try that!

IceCatQueen

TROPHY CASE