DEVELOPMENTAL INFLUENCES ON CAREER TRAJECTORY

Choose to interview a currently practicing clinical or school psychologist. You may also interview someone else in the applied mental health field whose career is of interest to you. (E.g., some past students have chosen to interview their high school guidance counselor or a social worker with a clinical practice.) The questions, below, are intended to provide guidelines for your interview. You likely won’t have time to ask them all: feel free to focus on what is of most interest to you and to take the interview in other directions as well. After completion of the interview, please write a paper (approximately 5 pages in length) which includes: 1) where the interview took place and how long it lasted; 2) the information you obtained from the interview and 3) reflections on what you learned from the interview relevant to your own career thinking/planning.

1. Please describe each of your current occupational roles. (Include if relevant: 1) job title; 2) services performed; 3) clients or customers; 4) major activities in role.)
2. Describe a typical day (include details).
3. For each of your roles, describe some typical, illustrative cases and/or projects in which you have recently been involved.
4. What do you enjoy most about your work? How (if at all) does it differ from what you
   imagined during your professional training (e.g. undergraduate, graduate school, etc.)?
5. What are some legal and/or ethical issues you deal with?
6. How diverse are the patients or students on your caseload? How (if at all) are the needs of
   diverse individuals distinct from others?

B. CAREER PATH IN THE FUTURE

7. How would you describe your present career path – that is, where do you see your career
   headed to in the future? (Ask for specific details if needed.)

C. DEVELOPMENTAL INFLUENCES ON CAREER TRAJECTORY

8. What led you to decide on a career in this field?
9. Before starting graduate school, what were some of the major influences on you that
   contributed to your professional identity and roles today?

D. CONCLUSION

10. Do you have any recommendations for undergraduates in terms of guidelines for developing
    a successful and satisfying career path?
11. Is there anything else you would like to add?