They advise lawyers on jury selection and collaborate with educators on school reform. They show up immediately following a disaster such as a plane crash or bombing, to help victims and bystanders recover from the trauma, or shock, of the event. They team with law enforcement and public health officials to analyze the causes of such events and prevent their occurrence. Involved in all aspects of our fast-paced world, psychologists must keep up with what's happening all around us. When you're a psychologist, your education never ends.
Psychology is a discipline with a bright future.
Among fields requiring a college degree, it is expected to be the third fastest-growing field in America through the year 2005 and to continue to grow steadily for at least another dozen years after that. Opportunities for work in psychology are expanding in number and scope. The move toward preventing illness, rather than merely diagnosing and treating it, requires people to learn how to make healthy behavior a routine part of living. Indeed, many of the problems facing society today are problems about behavior, for example, drug addiction, poor personal relationships, violence at home and in the street, and the harm we do to our environment. In addition, an aging America is leading to more research and practice in adapting our homes and workplaces for older people.