University

Becoming a psychologist was something I had knew I wanted to be when I was 12. I remember sitting cross-legged on the ground with my year 7 school class and I had finished reading out loud a paragraph my teacher had assigned to me. My teacher looked at me and said 'well done on pronouncing that word, do you know what it means?'. I had said 'psychologist' correctly despite seeing it for the first time in that text.

My teacher explained a psychologist helped people by listening to their problems and talking them through it. At that stage I was hosting similar conversations in the corner of the playground and I felt then I knew my calling. I promptly went home and asked my parents if psychologists earned a lot of money; they said yes it was a good job. And that was that.

I still have my exercise books where I had painstakingly written out the types of psychology that existed and what they did (information gleaned from encyclopedia's in those days) and that's where I found out you needed to do 3 university degrees to become a psychologist in Australia.

After finishing high school in South Australia, I moved to Victoria (another state in Australia) to complete my university education. 

Aged 20, accepted my first degree 'Bachelor of Psychology' at the University of Ballarat. Here with my dad.

Here with dad again, aged 21 accepting my 'Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology' from the University of Ballarat. This degree is similar to an honours level.

In the moment. Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology.

After taking a two year break between my second and third degree, here is Dad and I where I am aged 26 having accepted my 'Masters in Industrial and Organisational Psychology' from Deakin University in Geelong.

This completes the requirements to be a registered psychologist in Australia however to be endorsed by our governing body with a specialisation i.e., to be known as an 'Organisational Psychologist' rather than a Psychologist Specialising in Organisations, further work is required.

These extra requirements are not university led, but through external supervision by an experienced Organisational Psychologist. I am lucky to have a great supervisor and I will receive my endorsement and title of Organisational Psychologist in November 2012. I also plan to begin my PhD at this time. Exciting year ahead!

For those interested in my employment history, you can find my LinkedIn profile here.
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