Sergio Madrigal Muelas UNED Alzira-Valencia

PREPARATION OF A PROFESSIONAL PROJECT

1. Exploration Phase

From an individual point of view, my professional career has followed a path

away from the practice of psychology since I have a degree in
Telecommunications Engineering. However, my interest in psychology has
always been latent until I decided to start the official studies of the Psychology
Degree.

I also work in a multicultural job and in direct contact with crisis situations, which
has allowed me to adapt my work philosophy to the knowledge I have acquired
in my career.

From a purely formal perspective, in addition to the engineering degree, I have

been obtaining different degrees related to the field of project management,
which I consider of vital importance in the area in which I would be interested in
developing my professional profile associated with psychology.

I consider myself an enterprising person, with great capacity for teamwork, with
ease of learning and putting into practice the knowledge acquired and an open
mind for the acceptance and evaluation of situations.

From the point of view of the possible professional opportunities that obtaining a
graduate degree can bring me, I have always had in mind that the crossroads
between the two disciplines: telecommunications and psychology, opened an
important range of possibilities to be discovered. Likewise, over the years I have
observed a more sustained establishment of the psychological practice with a
great acceptance by the population. If we add to this situation the almost
immediate adoption of new technologies by the vast majority of citizens, we
have the ideal environment for the development of new and interesting projects.

In another professional sphere, I understand that regulatory constraints are a

barrier to the practice of the profession and that, therefore, I do not rule out
continuing my psychology studies in new stages by pursuing the MPGS and
thus allowing me to practice as a clinical psychologist.

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Sergio Madrigal Muelas UNED Alzira-Valencia

2. Establishment of professional objectives

As I mentioned before, since I started my psychology studies, my main

professional goal has been to use my knowledge and experience with new
technologies in the approach and development of projects related to psychology.

That is why I decided to specialize in the clinical area, since I consider that it is
where the use of new technologies has more possibilities to be explored at
present and where projects such as the ones I propose can have a greater
impact and contribute to the welfare of society.

My entrepreneurial spirit pushes me to conceive a future career by initiating a

professional project that leads to the creation of a company or organization. And
that it becomes the breeding ground for ideas that facilitate the work of
psychology specialists, improve the quality of life of people or serve as a tool for
future research.

However, I must admit that, after passing through the different subjects of my
career, the possibility of opening a practice where I can offer my services to
people who require them as a health psychologist or even participate as a
volunteer in centers where my help is needed, are options that have become
possible, whether they are public, private or non-profit.

3. Elaboration of the action plan

From the SWOT analysis point of view, the different parts of the SWOT analysis
would be as follows:

Weaknesses: Lack of experience in the job market related to psychology. Lack

of experience in medical settings. The possible bias introduced by my work
experience in the telecommunications field.

Strengths: My ability to adapt. My work experience in team management and in

multicultural and crisis management environments. My knowledge in
telecommunications, English and new technologies.

Threats: Market saturation of new technologies that could make proposals

irrelevant. Distrust in psychological solutions to everyday problems.

Opportunities: The non-existence at present of stable and entity solutions for

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many problems of a psychological nature. The important niche of action that

opens up with the adoption of new technologies by a large part of the population.

The action plan to achieve my goals at the work level would be as follows:

Phase I: Once I finished my degree, I started a small start-up in which I could

put all the ideas I had throughout my career and test their feasibility and their
implementation in the market.

Phase II: Presentation of these ideas in entrepreneurship environments in order

to sign possible alliances with investors who are willing to make these projects
economically viable.

Phase III: Establishment of a company, hiring of professionals who can act as

psychologists, as well as assist in the management and development of the
different projects.

Phase IV: Management of alternative projects. Advice on the creation of new

initiatives with all the experience gained in the previous phases.

In the event that Phase I fails, I would not rule out maintaining the objective, but
probing the market for possible companies that are currently engaged in or are
beginning to dedicate their R&D efforts to fields such as psychological
intervention and that have an already structured and sustainable base.

Likewise, throughout this process, I do not rule out volunteering in intervention or

assistance programs to put at the service of those who need it most the
knowledge that can be useful to them and thus contribute my small grain of sand
to the construction of a better society.

4. Skills development and employability

Given that I consider that I already have enough knowledge in new technologies
to launch myself to achieve the professional objectives mentioned above, I do
consider it very interesting to increase my base of specialization in the different
areas of psychology with relevant interest for clinical practice.

Thus, it would be convenient to specialize by taking a master's degree in

neuropsychology, clinical psychology or modern cognitive-behavioral techniques
that would allow me to increase my knowledge in assessment and intervention

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and lay the foundations to develop related projects. I also consider it interesting
to increase my network of contacts with people related to both fields: clinical
psychologists and entrepreneurs or software developers, in order to establish
professional links to combine forces in different projects.

I also do not rule out expanding my knowledge by participating in research

centers, both private and public, where I can contribute a different vision to those
projects that are currently being carried out or will be carried out in the future.

I believe that by keeping as my main objective the development of tools that can
be useful for professionals, patients or for research, I can find that area of
professional and personal development that will allow me to end up working on a
work that combines everything that arouses a real interest in my work.

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