My mother has a psych degree and my girlfriend is obtaining one. I can tell you that a good 80-90% of it is all common sense. The rest...well the rest is useless anyways. That's why a psych degree isn't worth crap. To get any type of decent job, you need a doctorate. I have taken a few courses and I'd say they are a waste of time and money when it comes to trading. If it interests you, go buy a couple books.
Am I wrong? Psychology is the degree where kids say, "well...if all else fails, I'll just major in psychology." Currently getting a B.A. in finance. I plan on going to grad school, just not sure when yet. I'm probably going to have to work a few years before doing so.
I remember reading the following somewhere and it made the point. Two friends (Jim and Joe) walk into an eye doctor's office. Jim asks the doctor if he'll be able to read if he got a new pair of glasses. The doctor replies, "Absolutely". Then Jim looks at Joe and says, "And you told me that I have to go to school to be able to read". The point is that the glasses will only help you read, if you already know how to read. Similarly, psychology helps but only if you have a system that works. If you do not have a system that works, none of the psychological stuff will make you a better trader.
In general, yes, you're wrong. You say "80-90% of psychology is common sense and the rest is useless". This obviously presupposes you know 100% of it. Is this the case? Well, we can't deny you the benefit of the doubt even if it's hard to believe. That said, having a mother with a degree and a girlfirend getting one is definitely not enough to claim oneself an expert. Maybe your mother hasn't been successful as a psychologist, I don't know. By the way, have you ever told her or your girlfirend that their studies aren't worth a crap? Because if you did, one appropriate reaction could have been to headbutt you on your front teeth. "To get any type of decent job, you need a doctorate." See, the more you generalize the more you expose yourself to the risk of being wrong in the face of your beliefs. Have you ever worked hard and achieved anything meaningful in your life? Have you ever been so good at something that people would chase you for what you had to offer? If you haven't, I understand you may have such limiting beliefs as: if you haven't got THAT piece of paper you can't get a decent job. "Psychology is the degree where kids say, 'well...if all else fails, I'll just major in psychology.'" LOL this might very well be more of a comment on students than on studies. As for the supposed uselessness of psychology, I can rather attest the contrary. Just to mention a clinical application of it: the therapist where I'm practicing has about 85% success rate on all of his patients, after a 1 year follow-up, without using any drug. I and other practitioners followed dozens of videotaped therapies from first to last session for a variety of disorders. There are anorexic girls weighting as little as 29kg when first entering his office and cured in a few months. And you're telling me it's just common sense? It's no magic either, just the right technique applied correctly. If you're extremely good at anything you get results regardless if you are a trader, a psychologist, a programmer or a carpenter. On the other hand, the world is loaded with unsuccessful degree owners from every discipline, you name it, who thought the piece of paper was all they needed. Not all generalizations are useless, but to generalize correctly you need experience FIRST. I see you're in your 20s: so boy, complete your studies, then work hard THEN decide what worked and what not, not the other way around. And consider building a career working for yourself, not thinking in terms of "getting a job". And THEN report your findings in a public forum. GS
Ignoring all that goes before this post Don't bother getting trained in psych as preperation for trading. Its a big subject and the chances are that most of the training will be wasted. Possibly all as its like applying medicine to yourself or being your own lawyer --- you shouldn't do it. Far better to train in something that will give you an alternative career if trading doesnt pan out for you. If you need psychology to help with your trading --- then just hire someone with the skills you need to overcome your current issues. Do the psych degree later for fun if you want but you'll be better of focusing elsewhere for now and just hiring psych help if you have problems.
I have a university degree in psychology and can say that it probably helps me to better analyse my own psychological problems as a trader and thus solve them faster. But I wouldn't say that I ever used stuff like "psychological preparation" etc. Just don't feel it's needed.
You cannot learn to have brass balls and never get unrattled when you are down huge money and your wife is a money grabbing c**t but great in bad.....fergetaboutit....
JA_LDP: You can choose not to listen to those who would call you "boy" or use "LOL" concerning your posts. You feelings and perceptions are yours. You will do better by honoring them. If anyone wishes to become more familiar with Psychological literature, I would recommend the works of Heinz Kohut. His books are readily available on Amazon.com.