As part of graduate training, psychologists apply to and attend a full-time internship for one year. Graduate students apply for the internship in much the same way as they applied to graduate school itself. The major difference is that the internship application process includes a matching of the internship applicant with the internship program. Most psychologists complete and defend the dissertation at this point. Many complete the dissertation during the internship year.
Most psychologists start working at approximately the same time they complete the dissertation.
As a result, they may apply for jobs during the internship year or soon after completion of it. The final stage in becoming a psychologist is to acquire a license. States vary considerably in their requirements for a license. Fortunately, most psychologists can get a temporary permit to work while they apply for the license. Many states do not allow this and psychologists must work in some supervised capacity until they get the license.