Have to choose another field. :-(

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My parents don't want me studying Psychology 'it'll just make you depressed" (that's what my mom said) I was thinking law (I wanted to do that growing up) I really can't think of any other field outside of Psychology that interests me. I read articles and think "OH what if I could do a study like that?" Sure I know you need a PhD and such but I loved researching and finding new info. on a topic I got really into the field. I listen to a Psychology podcast and the guy mention a study that said you seem to pay with the credit card symbol on the ticket (while at restraunts) Example you get the check and see a Discover logo (YOU are more likely to use your Discover card or so the study said) I e-mailed the Psychologist behind the podcast and asked what about how you are treated? (example a waitress helping you or being rude etc. does that affect tips) he said "PERHAPS YOU'RE LOOKING TO DO A MASTERS THESIS" OMG I was SO shocked (remember WP I don't even have an AA ONLY GED and I had a Psychologist mention I should do a Masters Thesis OMG!) Yes that takes alot of work and you have to get a Bachelor first etc. but I already have research ideas!! !! Other than that how about discpline?! I see how my sisters/nephew are raised do my own study about that!! !! I'm not sure what else I want to do.

You don't have to choose another field. Your mother telling you that your favorite topic of study will make you "depressed" is simply stupid. If you're interested in it, then pursuing it will make you happy, as long as your interest holds strong. That's true for everyone, but it's especially true for us. One of the biggest mistakes I've made in my life has been listening to my mother's discouragement. Now I'm 26 and still living with her, with a BA from a college far far far below my academic potential. I get the feeling that she is deliberately holding me back, perhaps because I'm the only person around to whom she is strongly connected. Don't let that happen to you.

About the Master's Thesis comment, make sure you are contextualizing that correctly. Your doctor might have been implying that the scope of the project you named is so deep as to require Masters Thesis level research, and that you were thus reaching too far without having even begun your BA.

-ck

Good point about the Master's Thesis thing never looked at it from that angle. Thinks for the tips on learning Psychology we'll see how things develop perhaps another field will become a special interest who knows.

I agree, there's nothing better than working your special interest as long as
you aren't subjugated by a boss that ruins it for you. (Computer Programmers
lose their enthusiasm that way.)

Master's Thesis? If you can do the research then you can write that and call it
whatever you want. If its something worthy of a Master's Degree and the
school will not accept it before you "buy" lesser degrees then IMO the education
system isn't working right, its just a job you have to pay to do, IMO.

I always say, well, what aeronautical school did the Wright Brothers get their
engineering degree and pilot's license from? I think none, and they had a
special interest in flying instead of just bicycling and fixing bicycles.

And, like them, the things I do, I have not been taught them in school, nor does any
school teach my special interest. I can study what has already been done before
in the Library for free.
With a special interest, do you really need to be told what books to read?
In my field, even with what has already been done, schools make you study,
but not DO it. If it is your special interest, just learn and just DO it.

(Reminds me of The Karate Kid, when Miyagi said, "You learn Karate from BOOK?".)

But don't follow MY ways.
Don't follow the ways of misery either, if school has no financial aid or puts you
into so much debt that you won't live long enough to pay it off.
If you are subjugated by a boss (especially with less education),
then they might ruin your enthusiasm also,
after requiring a degree to let you into their sweatshop.
Whenever possible, create your own path toward your own goal.

Warning:My opinions expressed here are purely hypothetical ; Not imperative.

Not everybody can drop out of school and become Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

Why are you letting your parents tell you what to study if you're getting financial aid to pay for it yourself?

I'm living under there roof though. Thanks for the advice.

I think go for it. There's nothing worse than studying one subject when you know you'd rather be doing something else.

I would tell her that studying psychology might make her depressed, but for you it's an exciting thing to study and it's what you want to go for and think you would be good at. You could at least get an undergrad degree in Psych and if you find that it is 'depressing' for you to study, you can get a graduate degree in something else.

I get too invested and obsessed with it so I shouldn't do it. I told her I'd do that with other fields and she said I shouldn't get so involved. (She doesn't understand special interest sadly) My interest is research/studies not diagnosing depressed people.

Nooooooooooooooooooo! Dude, we're autistic. Obsessing is what we do, and it's the source of our unusual strengths. If you feel like you ***know*** that Psychology is your field, then that is exactly what you have to study. If you find out that you don't like it, then you'll switch gears and find something else to obsess over. If you're like me, then each new perseveration will draw on information from all the older ones, and you'll make brilliant syntheses of diverse fields. Don't let anyone tell you not to be autistic. Be the person you want to be.



Perhaps she does not understand because you have not explained it to her. I've recently been becoming more and more aware of how my mind is fundamentally different from that of those around me. It's not just that I'm super intelligent and kind of weird, like I used to think, it's that I have a different kind of brain. Whether autistic or not, humans are built to make assumptions about other peoples' minds that they base on introspection of their own. So if you mother is neurotypical, then her way of thinking and perceiving is as alien to yours as yours is to hers.

Psychological research is one of the best fields for you to get into right now. The biggest challenge will probably be the number of people (most of them NT, and from priveleged families) who are going down the same academic path for the same reason. But few if any of those people will possess the drive, the memory for detail, or the incredible calculative power that autistics can have. If you're dedicated enough, and you don't mind having no other life (which would drive me crazy; I am a very social aspie), you could shoot for a PhD or MD in 4-5 years and still be ahead of the career trend curve.

I'm hoping right now that I can get myself into a graduate program for neurology in 2011. Maybe some day we'll meet in our work.

-ck

Thanks for the insight guys. So sweet I have an idea. Post a "Anyone looking for a roommate sign" on a bulletin board and move in with someone LOL! Parents strickly said YOU ARE NOT studying PSYCHOLOGY UNDER THIS ROOF!

Aren't you going to community college for an associate's degree, to start with? You don't have to declare a major yet, do you? You'll just be studying the basic math/English/biology/history kinda stuff for the first two years anyway... You can still plan to be a psych major when you transfer to a university, just don't mention it to your family until you're ready to apply.

Ya good point but the basics could of BEEN Psychology but I can't take those courses I'll focus on the other basics and go from there thanks for the advice.

Wouldn't that be obvious? If they have the logo for that card, they will definately accept that card, so it would make sense to use it.

I'd say find a way to study psychology tbh. If you find it that interesting then find a way around it. If necessary move out. In my experience (in the UK) university accommodation wasn't that bad, and they often have special residences for mature or postgrad students.

Ya some studies are silly to do such as that one. My idea on waiters is how they are rude and how they treat the guest (example you ask for some fries right away for your whiny toddler then the fries take forever to come etc.) Also maybe Asperger's you never know LOL!

If they take forever to arrive that might not just be a reflection on the waiter though, but on the efficiency in the kitchen.