Running header: DREAM JOB

Dream Job
Andrea Stringham
Salt Lake Community College

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Dream Job
The Canyons School District job listing describes a school psychologist as:
The School Psychologist works within an assigned Elementary, Middle, and/or
High School building, and provides a variety of services, including special
education evaluations, social skills and behavioral training and supports
with

students, counseling services, parent and teacher consultations, response to

intervention implementation, and data analysis. (2016).
Further research and interviews revealed that this description is a very vague description

of responsibilities a school psychologist is required to do. In one interview with K. Dzierzon, she
stated that she works with the students with their schedule changes and helps them with figuring
out what credits they will need to be able to graduate from high school. She helps them decide
what classes they can take that will fit into their own personalities and strengths. She has
meetings with the district, administration and parents of students needing help. (2016) I had
another interview with J. Epperson. She started as an elementary psychologist and then moved
up to a middle school. She had a friend group that she had specific students in that had a difficult
time interacting with other students in a social setting. She would help them with certain
situations and have them practice them when they were in the class room. (2016)
Educational psychologists help students with what motivates them and how to cope with
the diversity of students that are within the classroom. A Counseling psychologist is also in the
schools. They can help students cope with problems that they might be having with every day or
a situation they might be struggling with. (American, 2011).
School psychologists can work in variety of schools. They can work in public or private
schools ranging from elementary all the way to colleges. Some school psychologists have been

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known to work in detention centers or even orphanages. The career path can vary. You can start
planning on having a career in psychology even before graduating high school. You can
volunteer in different schools helping out with various types of activities put on the current
psychologist. A good way to get into the school system could be to start working as a part time
sweeper after school. You can also get a summer job helping out with preparations for the next
school year. This kind of work may seem pointless but it will get your name into the district and
show that you can work your way up. Getting a job in the counseling center as an aide can get
you noticed and you can learn how things work. Once you have earned a bachelors degree, you
can be hired as a counselor. The next step of career path would be an actual psychologist.
The education experience can be a different depending on which type of school you want
to work in. K. Dzierzon told me in her interview what she had done to get her degree. She started
her degree at SLCC getting her associates degree in general education. She then transferred to
BYU and got her degree in secondary education. She taught for several years at a high school
and then decided she wanted to go back and get her masters degree in counseling. She went to
University of Phoenix for several more years to get her masters in counseling.
The first step in becoming a school psychologist is to get you associates degree. You have
to get an associates degree to be able get any higher degree. Your associates can be very general
in nature but it is a good place to get any pre requisite classes under your belt. Getting your
associates can also help to have general knowledge in several different areas which will help in
the higher classes that will need to be taken. It also requires some basic writing classes that will
help with any of your correspondence and in writing papers in the higher classes.
After you have your associates, the next step is a bachelors degree. There are different
types of bachelors degrees for psychology. There is general psychology, school psychology,

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educational psychology and counseling psychology. It is a good idea to take classes in all of
these different areas but still focus on where you want to end up. A bachelors degree is limited
with what jobs you can get. Some of the jobs related to the field are psychiatric technician, career
counselor, probation or parole officer, child care worker, lab assistant, teacher or social service
specialist. Some of the skills learned with a bachelors degree are communication with others one
and one or in small groups, creative and critical thinking, understanding human behavior, and
behavior of individuals and groups. (Cherry, 2016)
The next educational step is a Masters degree. There are a lot more career opportunities
when you have a masters degree. Some of the healthcare options are behavior counselor, family
service worker, child protection worker, child care supervisor and school counselor. (Cherry,
2016) State requirements are that a school psychologist has sixty or more credits in school and
have approximately 1,200 hours in an internship. (Careers)
An additional step you can take is to get your doctorate. A doctorate can take 2-4 more
years after completing your masters degree. With a doctorate, you can have a career as a school
psychologist, a clinical psychologist or even a forensic psychologist. (Cherry, 2016)
There are some other things to look at with regards to education in the field. One thing to
be aware of is if the school you are attending is accredited. This is very important when you are
searching for a career after graduation. Going to an accredited school is a requirement to
becoming a member of the APA. It is very important to be a member of the APA if you want to
be recognized as a psychologist. After receiving your doctorate and all accreditations, you have
to become licensed and certified as a psychologist.
The average salary of all of these jobs can vary with the amount of schooling, experience
and where you work. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the national

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annual mean for clinical, counseling and school psychologist is $76,040. Some of the states
that are on the high end of the scale are California, Oregon, Hawaii, New York and Maine
earning from $78,090 to $90,690. On the low end of the scale are Utah, Arizona, Texas, Kansas,
Vermont and South Carolina ranging from $44,830 to $64,560. (Bureau, 2015)
The career outlook for psychologist according to the US bureau of labor states that
employment is projected to grow 19 percent from 2014 to 2024. (Bureau, 2015) I think that the
outlook is very good. The demand for psychologist is growing and there will always be a need
for them.
I interviewed K. Dzierzon. She is a retired counselor a Bingham high school. She worked
there for about 11 years and before that, she worked in a Junior High school. She works with the
students with their schedule changes and helps them with figuring out what credits they will need
to be able to graduate from high school. She helps them decide what classes they can take that
will fit into their own personalities and strengths. She has meetings with the district,
administration and parents of students needing help.
Another thing she helps students with is actual counseling. She talks with students with
family issues, grief counseling, grade problems and other issues students might have. She talked
about an incident that happened when she was a counselor at the junior high. One of the popular
students committed suicide. The girl was not a typical depressed teen that was a likely candidate.
She was smart and very well liked. She had found out that she was pregnant and didnt want her
father to find out so she killed herself. It was a very intense time at the school and for the
students. They had many students that were in need of grief counseling. Many other counselors
from the district came to help for a couple of days with the amount of student in need of

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counseling. There were even some students who needed counseling for several weeks after the
event.
She started her degree at SLCC getting her associates degree in general education. She
then transferred to BYU and got her degree in secondary education. She taught for several years
at a high school and then decided she wanted to go back and get her masters degree in
counseling. She went to University of Phoenix for several more years to get her masters in
counseling.
She had always worked in the school system and has always liked helping students. She
worked part time in a junior high school when she decided to go back to school. Her youngest
had started middle school and she felt like she needed to do something to secure her and her kids
future. When she got her teaching degree, she worked at the high school as an English teacher for
many years. She loved teaching the students and talking with them. The students were drawn to
her and felt like they could talk to her. She started to get overwhelmed with the amount of papers
she was having to grade. She still wanted to be around students and thought that counseling
would be a good fit for her.
Some of the pros of being a counselor are being able to work with the students to help
them when they need it. It is very rewarding to see the progress students can make with talking
to a psychologist. One major con of working a school psychologist is the politics of working for
the district.
I feel like I would fit with this career very nicely. I have worked in a middle school
with students that are the trouble makers. They seem to open up to me and talk to me about
things that are going on with them. I enjoy working with young adults and I think that I can have
an impact on them.

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References
American Psychological Association. (2011). Careers in Psychology. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/careers.aspx
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015). Occupational Employment Statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193031.htm
Careers in Psychology.com. School Psychology Careers. Retrieved from
http://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-school-psychologist/
Cherry, Kendra (June 17, 2016). Careers Options With a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.
Retrieved from https://www.verywell.com/careers-options-with-a-bachelors-degree-inpsychology-2794918
Dzierzon, K. (2016, July 9). Personal interview.
Epperson, J (2016, July 8). Email interview.
School Psychologist - Canyons Administrative Bldg. (500 W). (2016, April 18). Retrieved from
jobs.canyonsdistrict.org/hr/viewjob.cfm?jid=1156