Advantages and Disadvantages Of a Forensic Psychology Degree

Forensic psychology is going to be an exciting field of work. It is growing and there are a lot of fun challenges that will come up in the future with this career.

This can make it a beneficial degree for you to choose for your needs.

While there are different opportunities for those who become forensic psychology, it can be stressful and you may need to be gone from home on the weekends and at night, which is part of why not everyone comes into this kind of field.

There are both positives and negatives that come with having a forensic psychology degree and determining each one will help you decide whether it makes sense for you to go along with this degree.

Some of the benefits and negatives of a forensic psychology degree include:

The Benefits of a Forensic Psychology Degree

There are several benefits to working with a forensic psychology degree. Some of the benefits of going for this kind of degree include:

• Many career paths: There are a lot of employment opportunities when you choose forensic psychology. These are varied as well so you can pursue what interests you the most. You can spend time doing research, testing hypotheses, and conducting experiments, for example.
• You won’t need a degree in psychology: Even if you did not major in psychology, it is still possible to go for this kind of career choice. Many graduate programs will allow you in if you have a different degree, such as one in pre-law, social work, or criminal justice. This opens up opportunities for joining this field.
• Growth opportunities: Once you are done with your studies in forensic psychology, the opportunities for growing and learning in the career choice is not over. You can find new and exciting places to take your career and even work on specializations that can change things up and help you earn more.
• Exciting work: Working as a forensic psychologist can be exciting. This is true whether you plan to work as a consultant, in private practice, or law enforcement. Each day in this field will allow you to learn something new and have fun.
• It can be challenging: If you would like to find a career that is challenge and helps push you hard each day, then a career in forensic psychology is a good option to choose. This is not the typical desk job that will bore you along the way.
• You will not need to have insurance: Forensic psychologists will not need to worry about insurance. Insurance paperwork for other psychologists can consume a lot of their time, time that they would rather spend working. The lower amount of red tape can be helpful to a lot of professionals.
• Decent job outlook: IT is projected that this career field is going to grow by 8% through 2030. This isn’t as fast as some of the other careers out there, it is a great amount of growth for those who would like to push themselves and find a job that they love.

Good income: There is a high potential for earning a good income when you choose to become a forensic psychologist, which makes an online psych degree an even more attractive option.

the median annual salary for this professional will fall at $82,180 a year and even at the low end of things, this professional can earn close to $46,000 a year.

If the prospect of studying human behavior and helping people navigate emotional, behavioral, and mental health disorders appeals to you, a graduate diploma in psychology could be the next step in your career journey. For more information, you can learn more about a Graduate Diploma in Psychology with UTS Online.

These are just some of the benefits of why so many people love taking a career in the field of forensic psychology. Take a look through these to see whether this is the right career choice for you.

The Negatives of a Forensic Psychology Degree

While there are a lot of benefits that come with getting a forensic psychology degree, there are also some drawbacks, which is why not everyone chooses to go for this kind of degree in the first place.

Some of the negatives that come with having this kind of degree include:

• Needs a high level of education: Working in this field will require an advanced degree. In some jobs, you can get away with a master’s degree, but some specializations will ask you to have a Ph.D. to get started. This can take a long time to complete and makes it a hard career to get into.
• Supplementary skills can take time. Forensic psychologists need to be good at solving problems, good public speakers, and great writers. They also need to be able to work with a team or alone, meet deadlines, and work under pressure. These skills all take time to develop and can be hard for some people to learn.
• Lots of stress: While some workers like to have a challenge in the work they do, for others, this field can be too stressful for them.
• The days can be long: This is not the typical 9 to 5 job. It can include a lot of late nights, working on the holidays, and working over the weekends. This can make it a bad choice for those who need a steady type of job with routine hours all the time.
• Lots of paperwork:  You may not need to deal with insurance in your line of work, but a forensic psychologist will need to do a ton of paperwork. You will have to keep track of field notes, summarize findings in a court proceeding, and prepare notes for a client all the time.

For some, a career in forensic psychology is going to be a bad idea. They do not like all of the long hours and the paperwork that comes with it, so they choose to go with another career.

Choosing a Forensic Psychology Degree

There are many career choices out there that you can make, but a forensic psychology degree can provide a lot of benefits to those who need it the most.

When you take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of a forensic psychology degree, you will be able to decide if this is the right career move for you.