In My Own Words…

Diemmy Nguyen

Freshman Seminar

March 7, 2010

Researching Careers

I never knew what I wanted to be until I took a psychology class at Baruch College. It was so interesting and different from any other class I’ve taken before. If I become a psychologist, I am able to professionally analyze the human mind…I get to study why humans do the things they do. Although this sounds straight forward and maybe even simple, the road to becoming a successful psychologist is anything but simple. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Acceptance to graduate psychology programs is highly competitive (1).

My personal attributes and strengths are: being a good listener, giving good advice, and doing well in the psychology class that I took. Psychology values these strengths very much. I’m interested in becoming a clinical psychologist. Clinical Psychologists: are concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disturbances (2). Other clinical psychologists work in universities and medical schools, where they train graduate students in the delivery of mental health and behavioral medicine services (6). It is known that clinical psychology is “The largest specialty” (4). I think I’m a better listener than speaker but when I need to, I’m ready to use the information people have told me and then give them advice based on that. Also academically, doing well in psychology courses gives better job opportunities because it shows you know what you’re doing.

You should always have backup careers in mind. Just in case I change my mind about wanting the intensity of clinical psychology, I can also be a counselor. Counselors also help people, but they do  not often deal with psychosis. They use many methods including personal consultations and examinations to help people deal with everyday pressures and find ways to live happy, productive lives (3). Examples of what a counselor does are: help teens get over peer pressure, help married couples rekindle their love, and talk to people in general when they feel distressed. Students who go on to careers within the field of psychology can work in areas such as education, justice, health, research and clinical or counseling psychology (5).

Being a psychologist requires a quite a bit of schooling and an advanced degree (3). Becoming a clinical psychologist requires the most amount of schooling, because you need a PhD. This means that even after I finish college, I have to attend graduate school for another five – seven years. The job market is very competitive, so that means I would have to have my degrees ready to have a better chance of landing the job that I want. The skills for becoming a clinical psychologist are the same for if I wanted to become a licensed counselor.

It is appropriate to recognize our strengths and weaknesses now, so that we can find a job in the future that we both like and are good at. I myself want to become a clinical psychologist, but I know that I must have alternative careers in mind just in case I can’t fulfill that dream. It takes a lot of schooling to get a PhD, but when you are through with it, you get to enjoy the benefits of your hard work.

Bibliography

Sources

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Psychologists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm (visited March 07, 2010).

2. Hunter College, An Introduction to the Fields of Psychology, http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/~bseegmil/hdbk/fields.htm

3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Psychology Careers, Jobs and Employment Information, http://www.careeroverview.com/psychology-careers.html

4. Salisbury University, The Various Fields/Specialties Within Psychology (Subfields), http://www.salisbury.edu/careerservices/students/typesofpsychology.html
5. Open Polytechnic, Kuratini Tuwhera, Psychology Career Options and General Information, http://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/commonquestions/faq_psychologytwo
6. Psychology Information Online, Careers – Clinical Psychology, http://www.psychologyinfo.com/students/careers-clinical.html
I found these six information sources by looking up Occupational Outlook Handbook using Google. I also looked up Attributes and Careers ending with gov, edu, and org on Google.

DIEMMY NGUYEN

1957 Bronxdale Ave. Apt. D41

Bronx, NY 10462

(646) 519-0065

e-mail: [email protected]

April 14, 2010

Office of Human Resources

The Ford Foundation

320 East 43^rd Street

New York, NY 10017

Dear Hiring Manager:

Please accept this letter as an application for the Summer Intern Program. My resume is enclosed for review and consideration. I was referred to this opportunity by my school counselor, Patricia Johnson. I am an upper freshman at Baruch College and am working towards earning a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems.

I am well suited for the position at The Ford Foundation as a summer intern, because I am highly motivated and always willing to learn new things. Accomplishing graduation from high school with honors and being awarded with the New York Lottery Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship has prepared me with a mindset of being diligent, committed, and hard working towards all my tasks in life. I have also learned how to efficiently work under tight time frames and pressure from my past job as a business manager and bookkeeper for Golden Nail Salon.

If accepted for the position of summer intern, I can contribute many helpful attributes to the organization. I am always hard working, lively, motivated, and willing to learn. If you’d like to know more about my background and experience, please feel free to contact me at (646) 519 -0065 or [email protected]. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Diemmy Nguyen

Dear mom,

I know you only have good intentions for me, but I don’t want to follow your wishes of becoming an accountant. I am not motivated to put all the time and effort into becoming one, because it is not something I’m interested in. I’d rather invest my precious time into something else. I already have a favorable major in mind, which is computer information systems.

I’m more interested in a career that will keep my interest and allow me to enjoy my work in the future. Computer information systems is ideal for me, because I’ve always loved technology. Also, I don’t find myself bored with learning about it. I hope that you will understand my choice and support me on it.

Sincerely,
Diemmy

Not only have I gotten an A in my first psychology class, I’ve also been incredibly interested in the subject as well. Doing the work it took to get the grade was rather enjoyable, because I was actively learning about my major. It was fascinating to learn about how the mind works, both physically and mentally. I believe that if I was hired, I would make an outstanding psychologist because I work hard, while maintaining much enthusiasm.

I’ve always been interested to the answer of the age old question: Why do people do the things they do? When I took my first psychology class at Baruch, I was pleased to learn some of the answers. Observing and analyzing how the human mind works has a special pull on me. I’m not afraid of people who are different than the norm. I believe that just because someone has a mental disorder doesn’t mean that they cannot live a happy life. That is why I am passionate about helping the mentally ill in the near future.

If hired to be a psychologist, I would happily do what it takes to get the job done and even beyond that. I don’t have a problem working overtime, if it means I can finish my work faster. The important thing is to stay passionate about my career and the people that I want to help. That is what it means to have a well balanced, satisfying career path.

My name is Diemmy Ngoc Nguyen and I am eighteen years old. I was born in the Philippines, but I’m ethnically Vietnamese and Chinese. I moved here with my parents when I was three years old and have lived in the Bronx all my life. At home, I speak Vietnamese and English but I’m much better at English. I now live with my mom and my younger sister.

I am a full time student at Baruch College and I would like to pursue psychology as a major. I never really knew what I wanted to be and I’m still unsure about my career path, but that seems to be the best choice for me. Ever since I took a psychology class here, I’ve been very interested in the field. Also, I’ve found out that it’s my strongest class in school, because I get A’s while enjoying it at the same time. Psychology seems to be the best field for me to pursue a career in, because I have a big imagination and I often like to think about the reason behind the things humans do.

The weakest class for me is math. It just feels like a subject I’m always trying hard to figure out, and doesn’t flow naturally or intuitively like it does for many of my classmates. I’m decent at algebra, but calculus is a different story. It just feels very complicated and overwhelming for me because there are so many close ended things to remember, unlike subjects such as English and psychology. I guess I’m not good at remembering and applying a lot of formulas that will only produce one right answer.

When I’m not in school, I like to relax and have fun. My hobbies include chatting on AIM, watching anime and Korean dramas, and hanging out with family and friends. I also like to shop but not when I have to walk long distances while carrying heavy bags. Some things that I like to do when hanging out are going to the movies, going to the city, cooking/baking, playing video games, or just being at a friend’s house.

I think both my biggest strength and weakness is my willpower. It is my biggest strength because when I really want to accomplish a goal, I do whatever it takes to get there, even if I have to face many hardships. It’s also my biggest weakness, because I get too hopeful sometimes and can’t see that I’m overdoing something. That often leads to disappointment when I find out there’s no way I can actually accomplish that goal. Eventually, I just get over the disappointment and keep moving forward, because my willpower makes me feel like once one door closes, another one will always open.