Mya asked Jennifer Lane:

I would love to have psychologist career like you if you don't mind telling me how many school years you did in college in what is your highest degree? I would love to no what to expect thank you in advance?

Jennifer Lane Hi Mya, I finally saw this question!

Training to become a psychologist varies by country, but I'll tell you how I trained in the US.

I earned a BA in psychology, which took me 4 years. I didn't get into competitive MA/PhD counseling psychology programs my first try because they only accepted like 1-2% of students. But I applied again the following year, and got into a university. I was there 4 years, doing coursework, master's thesis and dissertation research, and working as a counselor, teacher, research assistant, and examiner. My 5th year was spent doing a predoctoral internship at a different university--basically working as a counselor there. After 5 years of grad school I got a PhD. Then I had one more year of supervised counseling experience ("postdoc") before I sat for my licensing exam, and became a licensed psychologist. So 4 years of undergrad and 6 years of graduate work.

They say psychologists have the longest training for the lowest salary of any profession, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I love my career.

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