So, what does one need to be a practicing
psychologist? I thought that was the qualification.
I'm not sure what exactly you're asking. You can practice without the Ph.D or Psy.D, but you need a doctorate to actually call yourself a psychologist. There are quite a few non-doctoral degrees out there that can do clinical-type work, including the MA in psychology, and the Master's of Social Work (which is very marketable, but doesn't appeal to me at all). Even with the B.S. in psychology, I could probably get some kind of job in the field; however, it would probably not be the type of thing I'm hoping to do, and the pay would be shit- not to mention the fact that everyone and her sister majors in psychology because it's "interesting," even if they have no idea what they'll do with it.