Freshman in High School, I Want to Be a Psychologist?

Question by : Freshman in high school, I want to be a psychologist?
So I just started my freshman year at a vocational school in Massachusetts. I really really really want to be a psychologist when I grow up. So the first step to achieving my goal would be to pick the right shop for my high school career. But I don’t know what one to chose. My school does offer a psychology class as an elective, but I can’t take it until senior year. The actual shops that I’m considering the most so far are
Health Occupations, because it focuses on general medical. but I don’t know how relevant it would be to psychology. But it would be good background at least, right?
Child Education, because I would be working with actual people, learning how they learn. but that shop focuses on children up to only 7 years old. I want to work with teens and young adults, issues like drug addiction, you know, all the juicy stuff. (lol)

I still haven’t experienced all of the shops yet. Most of them are trades like Carpentry, Electrical, etc. I don’t know. I guess I just need some opinions, advice, guidance, maybe some stories from your experiences? Thanks!
I am in honors chemistry and an honors algebra class, so I’m in high level science and math already. Why I prefer psychology is because I want to talk to people and help people. So, if i end up being a social worker, a school guidance counselor, therapist, whatever I’ll be satisfied. Got my eye on psychology though !

Best answer:

Answer by Alison
A general medical course is a good way to start, as it would better prepare you for some of the medical terms that you might see in psychology. It would also refine your desire on whether you want to be a psychologist who talks with patients but does NOT prescribe medication, or to be a psychiatrist, who DOES prescribe medication. As a psychologist, you will study more the emotional ramifications of mental illnesses and will help the patient through their problems mostly through talk therapy. Be aware that psychology is an extremely popular degree, and you will need to complete your Master’s or Doctorate degree to be able to make decent money. Psychiatry, on the other hand, deals with more of the physical causes of mental illness and seeks to treat it through a combination of medication and talk therapy. Psychiatrists are medical doctors that can prescribe medications, so that means that you will have to apply to and be accepted into medical school and complete specialized training to be able to become a psychiatrist. The downfall to this is that medical school is highly competitive and expensive, so the decision shouldn’t be made lightly, and you should probably start working on preparing for your undergraduate pre-requisites now by taking as many higher level math and science courses now and doing well at them. This should set the groundwork for the upper division math and science courses that you will experience in medical school.

Child education would help you in trying to teach children and teenagers, which can be especially useful especially in problem children that you might see in the office. What I would advise you taking in college in an adolescent development course in addition to a lifespan psychology course. These classes will help you understand development of the brain across the lifespan, but the adolescent development course will go into more depth. As for the “juicy” subjects, I would also recommend an abnormal psychology course, which will go over topics such as mental illness and drug addiction in detail. I would advise that you take these alongside your undergraduate pre-requisites if you are thinking about becoming a psychiatrist, but if you are thinking about becoming a psychologist, these will be required anyways.

I wish you luck in whatever field you choose!

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