Career Choice Research: Geneticist And Psychologist
First Career Choice – Geneticist
The high school course required to pursue this career path are ENG4U, 2 of SBI4U, SCH4U, and SPH4U, and 1 of MCV4U or MHF4U The education required for this career is extensive. First of all, a bachelor’s degree in genetics or a related field, like biology or biochemistry is required. With this degree, you could probably get a job in as some form of a technician, but to work with patients or other researchers, further education is required. A master’s degree, which is usually a 2-3 year program, in the same fields is generally enough for many research jobs, but a lot of researchers also have a PhD in their field, whether that be genetics or something similar.
Geneticists do many things with their work. They study genes and heredity, composing and conducting experiments and tests in order to learn more about DNA and how things come to be. Some geneticists work with humans, while others work with animals, plants, bacteria, or otherwise. Geneticists gather information on their particular area of interest and then can use this information to better the world. For example, some geneticists improve food and crop production, protect endangered species, work with forensic scientists to solve crimes, and some develop new ways to find genetic disorders.
If I chose this career, I would like the opportunity to keep learning new things all the time, as well as finding solutions to problems. I think I would also enjoy talking with other researchers and working together to come up with new ideas and having the chance to work with patients sometimes, but not all the time. With that being said, I do think the job could be very frustrating at times. Being stuck on a problem that you can’t solve, especially one that is likely very important, would be hard to deal with at times. I still don’t know exactly what I want to do after high school. There are so many options and many different career paths that I find interesting that it’s very hard to choose. I do really like the idea of something to do with the sciences, like a geneticist, psychologist, pharmacist, or neurologist, but at the same time I don’t want my job to take over my entire life, which is why I’m staying away from the more medical side of things, like psychiatry, and why I remain unsure. As of right now, my plan for after high school is to go to a university and take a variety of the science courses so that I can decide which ones I like best and pursue those.
Frank Clarke Fraser was an incredible canadian geneticist who contributed a lot to the field. He was Canada’s first medical geneticist, he helped to create the discipline of medical genetics, and he basically laid the foundations for genetic counselling, which has helped so many patients around the world to better understand their conditions and has allowed them to lead successful and fulfilling lives. In addition to these achievements, Frank Clarke Fraser also began work in the genetics of a cleft palate and he brought awareness to the idea of multifactorial disease.
Second Career Choice – Psychologist
The high school course required to pursue this career path are typically ENG4U, 2 of SBI4U, SCH4U, and SPH4U, and 1 of MCV4U or MHF4U To become a licensed psychologist in Canada, a PhD is generally required, although some provinces or territories might accept a master’s degree.
The first step is to obtain a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a closely related field, then a master’s degree with a similar subject, and finally a PhD, which can be more specific. The whole process can take 10 or more years to complete. Those 10+ years include a 4 year bachelor’s degree, a 2-3 year master’s degree, and a 4-5 year PhD. Psychologists can either be a practicing psychologist, one that deals directly with patients, or go in a more research oriented direction.
Practicing psychologists can deal with all types of patients with all types of troubles, from familial disagreements to eating disorders to more severe mental illnesses. They can work one-on-one with their patients or with groups for any given period of time. There’s a lot of variation in their job. A research psychologist, similarly to a geneticist, would work more on solving problems behind the scenes. They would conduct research experiments and maybe drug trials to find new ways to help people. If I chose this career, I think there are things I would/wouldn’t like in both aspects of it.
As a practicing psychologist, I think I would find some of the stories and problems fascinating and I would enjoy being able to help someone get their life back on track, but I also think knowing some of the things people have to endure and kind of being responsible for helping them get out of it could be pretty heavy. As a research psychologist, I would enjoy the problem solving and the chance to make a real difference in people’s lives, but being stuck on a problem or failing could feel like I was letting all those people down and could be very discouraging.
Albert Bandura is one of Canada’s most influential psychologists. After almost 60 years, Albert has made many significant contributions to the field, including, but not limited to, social cognitive theory, therapy and personality psychology, and he also influenced the transition from behaviorism to cognitive psychology.
