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The career that I want to expand my knowledge on for this paper is forensic psychology. Forensic psychologists are usually (dramatically) portrayed on television shows like CSI and other crime TV shows. Based on my current knowledge, forensic psychologists use the field of psychology and research to aid police officers in understanding things that they wouldn’t normally see without the help of these psychologists. When I google the term forensic psychologists, this is the definition that comes up: “the application of clinical specialties to the legal arena”. This appears to be a very broad definition, and upon further research I have discovered that there are many different jobs you can do if you want to be a forensic psychologist.
The many different job types that are included in this very wide realm of forensic psychology include: administration (teaching, program directors, nonprofit organizations), Case management, clinical/counseling, correctional officers, court liaison, forensic treatment, jury consultation, juvenile offenders, probation/parole, research, sex offenders, substance abuse, victim advocacy, etc. I want to focus on a few of these potential job titles. The clinical/counseling aspect sounds the most appealing to me because I love to help people when they are going through a hard time. The psychological assessment of potential criminals would seem to fall under this category as well. Seemingly, one of the most important traits that one would need when psychologically assessing criminals would be their clinical skills: interviewing, writing reports, strong verbal communication skills, the knowledge of law, etc. Under the realm of psychological assessment, one could assess child custody arrangements, threat assessments for important individuals (the president), screening and selection of potential law enforcement officers, etc. With all of this being said, it is understandable now that most forensic psychologists must possess either a PhD or a PsyD degree from an accredited university.
Next, I would like to talk about the potential downsides to performing this demanding job. The first being a female in the field and dealing with potentially violet sexual/nonsexual offenders. Normally, females in this line of work are expecting to empathize with their victims (no matter how dangerous they are.) Females are known for being more intimidated and manipulated than men. Females are also often known for their nurturing and caring nature, and I’m afraid that these specific traits might be compromised due to the nature of this work. I now know that police officers often get extremely cynical when working in this field for a while, and that is something that I don’t want to happen to me. I feel that in any line of police work these things would be true, especially being a female.
The salary to be a forensic psychologist can range anywhere from $65,000-$80,000/year. This does not seem like much considering you need a doctorate degree for most jobs in this field. The cost of a doctorate degree ranges from university to university but can cost more than $18,000/semester if you live out of state for that university. A common misconception for this field is that you will be making a lot of money (you’re a scientist, right?). The answer is not really because other jobs that don’t require a degree, for example an elevator installer, can make upwards of $80,000/year as well. I think that with the amount of schooling that is required, the individual that is in this field has to really love psychology, science, and the law to make it all worth it.
The importance of forensic psychology in the law arena is important for many reasons. One of them being they help with the sentencing of criminals that have entered into the court system. Forensic psychologists can also testify in court about whether or not the potential criminal is fit to stand trial (is he/she mentally stable). They not only protect the rights of the people, they also protect society from criminals who are repeat offenders.
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