i want to be a therapist but am confused about starting my bachelors degree

I am ready to start my bachelors degree. I do not understand the process. I am aware that to be a psychologist and have my own practice or work for a company I need a minimum of a masters degree because obtaining a bachelors in psychology is not enough to get a paying job doing what i like. so I have been considering other options regarding bachelor degrees (other than psychology specifically) such as a Bachelors of Science in social sciences (which might be just as useless :[ ... ), hoping to be able to get a job somewhere that can pay me enough money so that I can actually afford to continue an education and get my masters degree someday. I do not know what to do, I am very confused and stressed out because I do not have a declared major or minor for my bachelors degree. someone help me, i'm begging for direction! my huge weakness is math, accounting, heavy statistics, anything that includes math lol just to give you an idea of things that will hinder my success :-(

 

Pick any accredited school with a bachelor's in psychology and enroll. There's always going to be some math, but most people can do it. The graduate work you'll need is so far off that it's not worth considering at the moment.

 

1) Pick a BA Psychology program
2) Earn excellent grades
3) Pick a Masters degree program that will allow you to obtain a license to practice in your state
4) Earn excellent grades
5) Obtain your license to practice
6) Proceed toward additional goals

Hopefully you realize I'm making a small joke at your expense but the fact is, it's really not much more complicated than what I've laid out. If you get excellent grades it's not really going to matter much where your Bachelors degree comes from. There are MANY DL Psychology programs. There's probably one inside your state university system. Become aware of prices. An expensive program is not necessarily a better program. Try not to go too far into debt. Bachelors degree programs in Psychology are not going to differ very much from one school to the next. You'll see this is true if you look at the curriculum of required/elective courses. If there's a college/university anywhere near you, make an appointment to talk to them about career tracks. Even if you're not a student with them they will explain to you how their program works and it's not going to be very much different from anywhere else. If you do a search on this site you'll find lots of threads talking about Psych programs. The main thing is to relax a bit. Don't stress out. Lot's of other people have done this and you can too. Take a deep breath and look at this:

BA Psychology - UMassOnline.net

Good luck.

 

Being the practical type, I would suggest that you find a school where you can get a Bachelors in Education with certification in social sciences with a secondary certification in English or some other field (probably not math, right). Always have a back-up plan, then proceed to find a suitable school for a Masters in Psychology. But, in most states, a Masters in psychology does not qualify you to become a psychologist - you need either a PsyD or a PhD in psychology. There is a masters route to licensure - a Masters in Counseling or a Masters in Social Work; which, in most states, require 60 semester hours. Whichever you choose, I wish you luck.

 

This is a great, thoughtful post. I would only add that if UMass is the route you elect to take, you might want to look into things like Straigherline, CLEP exams, or even affordable community colleges to knock out your general ed requirements and electives, then transfer to UMass for the major. You'll save a lot of cash.