Aimee Sraver

1/11/07

Informational Interview with Dr. Farley

School psychology is a career that requires a lot of preparation and experience. Dr. Farley’s testing has many components that I wouldn’t have been exposed to before having discussed them in detail with her. She tests children who have appeared to be struggling in the classroom, falling behind their classmates, and kids who have been referred to her by a parent or teacher who think the child has issues paying attention, getting distracted easily, and any other behavioral problems. I learned that Dr. Farley faces many challenges in her career. For example, there is sometimes not enough time or enough resources to help children that are having a hard time in the classroom and that can be very frustrating. Dr. Farley commented that even though frustration is inevitable with almost any job, it is pointless to let frustration get the best of you because some things just can not be fixed.

Dr. Farley graduated from college having majored in psychology and then she went on to earn her graduate degree in clinical psychology, which took five years. While in grad school, she worked in day care and then worked in a clinic helping to diagnose children with ADHD. Dr. Farley said that most of the skills she uses in her job, she attained through her graduate school experience. She added that it is difficult to get a job teaching with a clinical degree, but that some schools will hire if the person has done clinical work. I learned that in a career field as important as school psychology, the more experience the better. After working specifically with children who had ADHD, she decided she wanted to move to the school setting because she loves working with kids, and enjoys the one on one interaction.

I asked Dr. Farley a few questions about the types of qualities a person would need to posses in order to be successful in a career that involves working with children. It is very important to be caring and to keep in mind why you are doing what you’re doing, especially when you are dealing with discouraging situations on a daily basis. A person does not pursue this type of career for the money or for their own satisfaction. When Dr. Farley works with kids, her goal is not to “fix everything, but to help some.” She then commented that “while I’m not going to fix it, I’m going to make it better.” It is very evident that her job is so purposeful and that she has a mission every time she comes to work. Every day she relies on positive reinforcement, rewards, and positive feedback.

Towards the end of my interview with Dr. Farley I asked her if she had any advice about pursuing a career in school psychology or social work. She said that one of the most important things is to have a balanced personality. She said it wouldn’t be helpful for anyone to be the type of person that just runs with any and all information they receive from the parents of children they work with or even their colleagues. For example, if a mother says she will get her child outside counseling you wouldn’t want to have the attitude of, “she said she would do it, and she will.” Although it is essential to be able to trust people, it is almost more important to be able to distinguish between reality and people telling you what you want to hear. Dr. Farley said that having people skills are necessary because of the interaction you have with children, parents, and other teachers on a daily basis. One must also have good reasoning/interpreting skills.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the informational interviewing process. It was more convenient talking to my supervisor then trying to learn this information from books or internet sources. I was given feedback on things that I value and am interested in. For example, working in a diverse environment is very appealing to me so I incorporated a question about that into my interview. I asked Dr. Farley if diversity was something she appreciated and she said absolutely, especially in terms of what she does daily. Even though her testing is a large part of her job, it is not something she does every day. I ended the interview by asking Dr. Farley what she would say is the most rewarding aspect of her job, and she responded by saying that it’s most fulfilling to see a child do well after she has worked so hard with them. This interview provided me with enough information to realize that this would be my ideal job, because it would satisfy all my interests and values and allow me to work closely with children.