Any school psychologist want to describe their career to me (I'm considering this career)?

Question

I'm considering going for a masters in school psychology, and was wondering if any of you practicing folks could describe your typical duties, and if you recommend it as a good career? What are some positives/negatives? What skills and training do you need?

My bachelors was in the fine arts, so should I take some prereqs in psychology?

If you could recommend a college program too that would be great.

Answer 1

I worked as a sch psy for 21 years, in CT public schools at all grade levels. Yes, it's a good career. In CT, you need 60 graduate credits, 30 for a masters and 30 beyond that, in order to earn your certificate. Whether you would have to take prereq psych courses is something each college determines. I went to the U of Connecticut, and their program has a good rep.

Among the things I did were counseling, testing for learning problems, attending meetings for special educ students, crisis intervention, parent consultations, writing reports, and consultation with teachers and administrators.

It is not an easy job. The parents of some students are extremely demanding and sometimes obnoxious. It's wearing to work with depressed or suicidal students. It's stressful to have to intervene with violent or aggressive students. These things don't happen every day, thank goodness, and sometimes it can be very fulfilling.