Benchmark – Career Exploration/Short Research Paper
Research two or three career paths of interest in your prospective field. In 750-1,000 words, include the following:
Labor market and availability (e.g., location)
Income range
Education/training needed
Job availability
Future stability
Time Demands
Benefits
Challenges (e.g., burnout propensity)
Opportunities for advancement
Does it match your skill level?
Does it align with your personality? Value system?
Summarize which path best suits you and your career choices. Explain why.
Discuss any surprising factors surrounding the career paths of your prospective field.
At least two to three scholarly, peer reviewed sources published within the last five years are required for this assignment.
Sample Answer
Career Exploration/Short Research Paper
My two main careers of interest in the field of psychology include health and wellness coach and sports psychologist.
Health and Wellness Coach
The role of the health and wellness coach includes working with clients to improve their vitality, health, and overall well-being. A health and wellness coach engages in various behaviors that help in the improvement of health and prevention of diseases such as nutrition, fitness, weight loss, sleep, stress, coping, mindfulness intervention, and positive psychology interventions (Pettitt, 2018). The main goal of a health and wellness coach is to ensure that there is a sustainable lifestyle change in patients, especially those that struggle with damaging behavior such as aggressive ways and controlled stress, poor fitness, low energy medical conditions, or inadequate levels of positive emotions (Wolever et al., 2016).
The education qualifications and training required for wanting to become a health and wellness coach include having a bachelor’s degree in related disciplines such as psychology, counseling, fitness, nutrition, wellness, or health care (Wolever et al., 2016).
The demand for health and wellness coaches is high in different regions across the US, especially in highly populated areas such as cities. The average salary of a health and wellness coach in the US by August 2021 was $60353, with the income range being between $52,733 and $67,819 (BLS, 2021). The job outlook for health and wellness coaches appears great. This is because, according to the US Bureau of labor statistics, jobs for health and wellness coaches will grow by about 13% annually from 2020 to 2040 (BLS, 2021). The demand for health and wellness coaches will therefore continue to increase in the future as the demand for healthcare services increases.
Health and wellness coaches work in different environments, including corporation’s day spas, natural health food stores, medical centers, wellness centers, physician offices, and schools. The average hours that a health and wellness coach will work every day is 8 hours, with 40 hours a week work being common.
The health and wellness coach job has numerous benefits, including flexibility. A health and wellness coach who works independently with clients can therefore be able to set their own schedules to attend to clients. Another central benefit of the health and wellness coaching job is providing positive outcomes to clients.
On the other hand, the main challenge of the health and wellness coach job is burnout which mainly affects the health and wellness coaches who work in medical centers, wellness centers, and other busy settings. The heavy workload that health and wellness coaches who are in busy healthcare facilities are faced with therefore contributes significantly to burnout.
The opportunities for the advancement of the health and wellness coach career include pursuing a master’s degree and other advanced degrees. Having a master’s degree and other advanced degree qualifications can therefore make a health and wellness coach climb the career that is associated with the profession, such as being a supervisor and setting up a private practice.
The health and wellness coach job matches my skill level as I possess both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology. I can therefore work as a health and wellness coach in various settings and be qualified to occupy mid-level and high-level management jobs. The health and wellness coach job matches my personality and values system because I enjoy working directly to improve the lives of others through service. As a health and wellness coach, I can have a significant positive impact on the life of diverse groups of people.
Sports Psychologist
A sports psychologist’s role involves the use of psychological skills and knowledge to address all issues related to the well-being and optimal performance of athletes (Meyers et al., 2017).
The educational qualifications for a sports psychologist include pursuing a degree in sports psychology. On the other hand, a person wishing to pursue sports psychology needs a double major in psychology and exercise science in a college or pursue a clinical psychology degree with a sports psychology concentration (Meyers et al., 2017).
According to the US Bureau of labor statistics, the median annual salary for sports psychologists was $79010 in 2020. According to the BLS, sports psychologist jobs, including sports psychologists, will grow by at least 14% from 2020 to 2030 (BLS, 2021b). The clinical psychologist job is one of the most flexible jobs as sports psychologists normally work with athletes following certain set schedules. The clinical psychologist is also not a time-consuming career, with an average 30-hour workweek being standard. The main benefits of a clinical psychologist career are working with diverse athletes and helping them achieve their goals. On the other hand, the main challenges include not achieving expected results with different clients. The sports psychologist job does not appear to match my skill level because my major is in psychology. This is despite my significant interest in sports.v
