Where should I go and what should I do to become a Psychologist?

Into the unconscious.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is an excellent resource for exploring potential careers and finding information to help you search deeper into each field of study. The link is specifically for their Psychologist page, but you can use the search bar on the left side to investigate other counseling options, such as Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

Are you taking the elementary and standard undergrad. psych. courses? That is certainly the way to go. Talk to the chairman of the department also.

You don’t need a Doctorate to become a clinician. A Masters of Social Work, certification and two years of supervised work is generally sufficient.

You should talk to a counselor at the school you’re currently attending, they have all kinds of information and sources to help you plan your career.

I’ve been in the field for almost thirty years, though I never bothered to get my Ph.D. I direct a large mental health facility and am a licensed therapist. If you want to counsel, and if you’re not too keen on experimental or research, perhaps you should look into Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) programs. You can get a lot of info on the net as to what schools are best for what as well as find descriptions of the two types of degrees. Psy. D. programs have become very popular. There was an excellent psych dept with very notable teachers (I had Julian Rotter for a class) at UConn (my B.A.). Then I went on for two graduate degrees in counseling. Are you married to the idea of a Ph.D? Social Work is probably the most lucrative alternative, but I personally decided to go into Rehabilitation Counseling (as I am more in tune with its philosophy), and I am still licensed to bill insurance companies (though I ‘m presently not in practice). Speak to your advisor or a psych teacher about it. Good luck, it’s a challenging field.

Well, that depends on your career goals. Do you want to work primarily with patients, or do you want to do research? If the former, then you don’t have to get a PhD; you can just get a master’s in counseling. OTOH, if you are research-oriented, you should probably get the PhD. I have heard that UPenn has a good doctoral program in psychology.

If you’d like to explore other program options, visit your school’s career center. My college career office gave interested students a thick black book with a list of graduate schools, organized by program. If you could get your hands on one, that would be a good place to start looking.

You should also talk to your academic advisor or a psychology professor that you admire, because s/he can give you more targeted, major-related career advice. Good luck!

Without at least a Masters, you can’t call yourself a psycholosist. My late wife had a BA in psychology and was a licensed counsellor but could not use the title “Psychologist”.