Any Psychologists/Psychiatrists? Thinking of a Career Change

[David.]

Yeah, I wanted to ease back into school. And yeah, it is pretty basic stuff.

It is actually fascinating to be back in class with a bunch of kids. All this is new to them and it is hard to remember how it felt to not know shit. And I find the dynamics of the various ethnic groups interesting as someone who went to school in WI where 95% of the student body was upper-middle class white kids.

The cultural differences are apparent. Five students spoke up in class today. Three were white guys and they seemed very confident and self-assured as they spoke. An African-American woman, an older woman, was more reticent to ask questions while a young East Asian student seemed down-right terrified to have to speak. Socio-economic factors are apparent too. Only a handful of people use laptops during class. Myself and the other white guys. I imagine Sociocultural Psychologists have a lot to say about all of it. @David., you're in school, what is the dynamic at your school?

Chem and Calc will be a bear.

Well, the accounting program was odd. Many, I believe, were pretending that they were worse at English than they actually were to avoid conversation.

Id say it was a mostly Asian demographic. Whites weren't the majority, if anything. The people who did the best didn't have to work while they studied and it showed in their grades. I doubt many in my program were working. The top of the class consisted of a couple people of Asian dissent, a couple Jewish, and myself. None of anyone in the program seemed impoverished

The community college I went through to get there was markedly less intelligent and poorer

 

[jvlgato]

That's cool, makes sense to ease back in.

Did you grow up in WI? My wife is from the Burlington area and went to Marquette and then UW Madison for med school. Or did we talk about this? Sorry if we did.

 

[Sebastian]

That's cool, makes sense to ease back in.

Did you grow up in WI? My wife is from the Burlington area and went to Marquette and then UW Madison for med school. Or did we talk about this? Sorry if we did.

She went to Marquette? No shit.

I am an Air Force brat. The place I spent the most time as a kid, seven years, was Alaska. I went to undergrad in WI at a small liberals arts college and did two years of law school at Marquette (hated law school, joined the Army after 2L year).

Marquette is very white-bread, northern Chicago suburbs. It its a good school. I got to play beer pong against Steve Novak. Travis Diener was there that night too, but he doesn't drink.

 

[Sebastian]

Well, the accounting program was odd. Many, I believe, were pretending that they were worse at English than they actually were to avoid conversation.

Id say it was a mostly Asian demographic. Whites weren't the majority, if anything. The people who did the best didn't have to work while they studied and it showed in their grades. I doubt many in my program were working. The top of the class consisted of a couple people of Asian dissent, a couple Jewish, and myself. None of anyone in the program seemed impoverished

The community college I went through to get there was markedly less intelligent and poorer

I am doing classes through the community college this summer. It is very different, as you say, than a four year university; though this community college is well regarded.

You have a point about those who work full time. It really sucks for those who may have to sacrifice grades a bit just to pay the rent. I feel like every full-time student should have the ability to focus solely on school.

But, by and large, it seems you are correct as the students here are a step below those one would find at UW or any good four year. The professor also teaches at UW and we talked about the diversity stuff and she said if it were a UW course one might find but a single minority. I'm glad that isn't the the case in my classes. As a people watcher I rather enjoy observing the subtle differences in behavior and the learning curve when it comes to new students introduced to the mores of a college class. As I mentioned before, the white kids seem to transition faster and feel more comfortable at speaking up in class. Why do you suppose that is, @gourimoko?

Could it be they know what to expect because they aren't first generation college students? Is it "white privilege?" Are East Asian students quiet because those cultures are very deferential to authority? Are girls less comfortable speaking in front of a large group? So many fascinating questions.

 

[David.]

I am doing classes through the community college this summer. It is very different, as you say, than a four year university; though this community college is well regarded.

You have a point about those who work full time. It really sucks for those who may have to sacrifice grades a bit just to pay the rent. I feel like every full-time student should have the ability to focus solely on school.

But, by and large, it seems you are correct as the students here are a step below those one would find at UW or any good four year. The professor also teaches at UW and we talked about the diversity stuff and she said if it were a UW course one might find but a single minority. I'm glad that isn't the the case in my classes. As a people watcher I rather enjoy observing the subtle differences in behavior and the learning curve when it comes to new students introduced to the mores of a college class. As I mentioned before, the white kids seem to transition faster and feel more comfortable at speaking up in class. Why do you suppose that is, @gourimoko?

Could it be they know what to expect because they aren't first generation college students? Is it "white privilege?" Are East Asian students quiet because those cultures are very deferential to authority? Are girls less comfortable speaking in front of a large group? So many fascinating questions.

You can look up personality differences between sexes, etc. in the big five. That may be interesting to you.

Men are going to tend to speak up more. There's a dominance hierarchy to establish.

 

[jvlgato]

Alaska was an awesome summer trip for us! Don't think I'd want to live there though.

Yeah my wife said the Wisconsinites would make of the Chicago suburbs kids who would say they're 'from Chicago'. Then she'd say 'no you're not. Where are you really from?' 'Well I grew up in Schaumburg, but it's basically Chicago' 'No, it's really not' Pfft.

Law School sounds awful to me.

Wait, so where does The Land come into play?

 

[Sebastian]

Alaska was an awesome summer trip for us! Don't think I'd want to live there though.

Yeah my wife said the Wisconsinites would make of the Chicago suburbs kids who would say they're 'from Chicago'. Then she'd say 'no you're not. Where are you really from?' 'Well I grew up in Schaumburg, but it's basically Chicago' 'No, it's really not' Pfft.

Law School sounds awful to me.

Wait, so where does The Land come into play?

I miss Alaska everyday. One gets used to the winters. As a sportsman it is simply without peer. Lakes, forests, lazy sloughs and the Chena River were my backyard. I learned how to fish by catching rainbow trout and silver salmon. We got our first moose when I was 12. I didn't pull the trigger but I located it and helped stalk it. I want to earn enough money so I can spend a couple months a year there while operating out of Seattle. Private practice seems to be the solution in that regard. Seattle and its environs are perfectly suited for private practices (lots of rich people in a small area with long, gloomy winters). Close to several bases for helping those with PTSD.

Yeah, law school was tedious and I just didn't enjoy the work. The law can be interesting at times, but it is mostly endless research and ramming one's head into legal walls. I don't how @The Human Q-Tip does it.

I was born in Cleveland, as was my Dad. All his family is there. Also, I was conditioned from an early age to root for the Browns and Indians. My father never cared for basketball. I learned to love the Cavs on my own.

 

[gourimoko]

I am doing classes through the community college this summer. It is very different, as you say, than a four year university; though this community college is well regarded.

You have a point about those who work full time. It really sucks for those who may have to sacrifice grades a bit just to pay the rent. I feel like every full-time student should have the ability to focus solely on school.

But, by and large, it seems you are correct as the students here are a step below those one would find at UW or any good four year. The professor also teaches at UW and we talked about the diversity stuff and she said if it were a UW course one might find but a single minority. I'm glad that isn't the the case in my classes. As a people watcher I rather enjoy observing the subtle differences in behavior and the learning curve when it comes to new students introduced to the mores of a college class. As I mentioned before, the white kids seem to transition faster and feel more comfortable at speaking up in class. Why do you suppose that is, @gourimoko?

Could it be they know what to expect because they aren't first generation college students? Is it "white privilege?" Are East Asian students quiet because those cultures are very deferential to authority? Are girls less comfortable speaking in front of a large group? So many fascinating questions.

It's entirely cultural..

White kids fit into the normative culture. Put White kids into a predominantly non-White environment, both living and academic, and you end up with completely different set of experiences.

You see this in Hawaii with White students being far less likely to excel than other groups (except native Hawaiians) largely due to a history of anti-White discrimination that they would have endured their entire lives.

From my experience; White transfer students into Hawaii schools leave, more often than not, largely due to cultural differences and a rejection of the normative class/culture and attitudes. The same is true of Black students coming to Hawaii for that matter; but less so.

Lastly, in Asian communities, particularly in Japanese, Chinese or Filipino communities, it would be uncommon for students to make their presence felt in a classroom setting in such a way.

This is a purely cultural phenomena.

 

[Sebastian]

It's entirely cultural..

White kids fit into the normative culture. Put White kids into a predominantly non-White environment, both living and academic, and you end up with completely different set of experiences.

You see this in Hawaii with White students being far less likely to excel than other groups (except native Hawaiians) largely due to a history of anti-White discrimination that they would have endured their entire lives.

From my experience; White transfer students into Hawaii schools leave, more often than not, largely due to cultural differences and a rejection of the normative class/culture and attitudes. The same is true of Black students coming to Hawaii for that matter; but less so.

You articulated very well what I was thinking. The classroom environment is the dominant white culture for the most part. Same could be said of business and the professional fields.

 

[David.]

You articulated very well what I was thinking. The classroom environment is the dominant white culture for the most part. Same could be said of business and the professional fields.

This is not exemplary of my high school, fwiw

 

[Sebastian]

This is not exemplary of my high school, fwiw

Where did you go to HS?

 

[gourimoko]

You articulated very well what I was thinking. The classroom environment is the dominant white culture for the most part. Same could be said of business and the professional fields.

Precisely.. and that qualities of the normative culture become enculturated by the non-normative culture, quite naturally, over time.

I think Japan is a perfect example of this, if we're looking at this from an American viewpoint, to see just how strongly culture dominates these kinds of interactions.

 

[David.]

Where did you go to HS?

Kenston (Bainbridge, OH).

 

[Sebastian]

Kenston (Bainbridge, OH).

What was your experience?

 

[David.]

What was your experience?

Predominantly white, only a few kids that weren't either white or black.


There were no louder kids than the black kids and myself.