If you already have a degree in psychology or are considering it, and wondering what you can do with a psychology degree, then you need to give utmost attention to this writing.
According to the American Psychological Association’s Center for Workforce Studies, as of 2017, about 3.5 million people in the United States had a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
While many pursued degrees or doctorates in psychology or other fields, a solid two million (or 56% of psychology majors) didn’t. So, what if you decide not to work towards a clinical or academic career, or get another advanced degree?
Do not worry; There are a variety of options and career paths that you can pursue with your psychology degree. And this writing will give all you need to know about what you can do with a psychology degree.
Table of contents
- Why studying psychology can lead you to success
- What is psychology about?
- What are the types of psychology degrees?
- What jobs can you get with a degree in psychology?
- #1. Marketing Specialist
- #2. Social /Community service manager
- #3. Psychiatric Technician
- #4. Human Resources Specialist
- #5. Copywriter
- #6. Career advisor
- #7. Substance Abuse Advisor
- #8. Probation officer
- #9. Sales account executive
- #10. UX researcher
- #11. Diversity and Inclusion Manager
- #12. Academic advisor
- #13. Customer Service Representative
- Conclusion
Why studying psychology can lead you to success
Training in psychology applies to many professions. Psychology graduates are particularly rich in transferable skills, including communication, analysis, and critical thinking. These skills are in great demand by large employers.
A degree in psychology will help you develop both quantitative skills (through courses such as research and statistics) and more creative, open-minded thought patterns.
In psychology degrees, people learn how to understand human behavior and how to use data and research in real-world settings. These valuable skills can be used in many fields such as business, law, education, and other social sciences. “
Your psychology major can help you grow into a person with various hard and soft skills and a clear understanding of yourself and other people – which can be beneficial for various jobs.
Psychology is a versatile degree that can lead to various careers, making it one of the most popular majors for students.
What is psychology about?
Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and the mind. A psychology degree can include training in abnormal psychology, human development, and experimental psychology.
With a degree in psychology, graduates can find jobs as school psychologists, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists. The degree can also lead to employment opportunities in marketing, human resources, social work, and education.
This article introduces aspiring students to popular careers for psychology majors, examines job openings at various grade levels, and explores earning potential for psychology careers.
What are the types of psychology degrees?
The colleges offer psychology degrees at associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. Each degree prepares graduates for different employment opportunities.
For example, counselors and therapists often need a Masters degree while clinical psychologists need a PhD. This section discusses career opportunities for each level of psychological training.
Associate Degree in Psychology
An Associate Degree in Psychology introduces students to the scientific study of human behavior and the mind. Associate degree graduates can become psychiatrists, human service assistants, and rehabilitation technicians. The degree also prepares students to switch to a bachelor’s program in two years and earn a bachelor’s degree.
During an associate degree, students take introductory psychology courses and complete the general educational requirements in the humanities, social and natural sciences. It usually takes two years to achieve an associate degree.
Bachelor in Psychology
A bachelor’s degree is the first step in many career paths in psychology. The degree prepares graduates for behavioral disorder advisor, social worker, and mental health advisor roles. Other relevant areas for graduates of psychology degrees include human resources, criminal justice, and social services.
During an undergraduate degree, psychology majors take courses in abnormal psychology, human behavior, organizational psychology, and social psychology to build basic skills in assessment and research. In addition to teaching psychology, students must meet general educational requirements.
Achieving a bachelor’s degree typically takes four years for full-time students and around two years for students with an associate degree or adequate college credits.
READ ALSO: 10 Best Child Clinical Psychology Masters Programs In 2024
What Is the Difference Between a BA and a BS in Psychology?
Psychology majors can earn either a BA or a BS in psychology. Both degrees train students in psychology, and students often take the same majors. A BS can include more laboratory-specific work than a BA.
Outside of the main courses, the degree requirements differ more. BA focuses on humanities and social sciences programs, including history, sociology, and English classes. Most BA degrees also require a foreign language. While BS requires science and math courses such as statistics, biology, and chemistry.
Both a BA and a BS can lead to a variety of jobs for graduates in psychology.
Master in Psychology
A Masters degree prepares graduates for psychological careers that do not require a PhD, such as: B. a school psychologist or a work organization psychologist. Earning a masters degree also helps psychology students specialize in their education before graduation.
During a master’s degree in psychology, students take courses focusing on research, theory, and psychology methods. Most master’s programs last around two years for full-time students.
After completing the course requirements, Masters students often write a thesis or take a comprehensive exam. The students usually also complete a supervised internship in order to gain practical experience.
Many programs offer concentrations in neuropsychology, developmental psychology, and educational psychology. Specialized programs can also cover child psychology or forensic psychology.
PhD in psychology
A doctorate in psychology is a prerequisite to becoming a licensed clinical psychologist. These include careers such as child psychologist, counseling psychologist, and neuropsychologist. The degree also prepares graduates for careers as psychology professors.
At the doctoral level, psychology students can either acquire a doctorate. or a Psy.D. A Ph.D. emphasizes research and prepares graduates for academic or research assignments, while a Psy.D. focuses on clinical practice.
The doctorate in psychology usually takes around five years, including course work, dissertation and internship.
Some psychology doctoral programs specialize in areas such as educational psychology, behavioral psychology, or organizational psychology. A specialized doctoral program helps students prepare for specific career paths in psychology after graduation.
What jobs can you get with a degree in psychology?
Let’s look at some of the well-paying jobs you can get with a degree in psychology. Most of the time it has nothing to do with psychology.
You can make big money by applying to any of the following positions:
#1. Marketing Specialist
Salary Range: $41,000 to $79,000
Marketing analysts are responsible for helping companies better understand their customers and their industry.
Market analysts typically use a variety of data sets and statistics about a company’s target audience (e.g., buying trends, market research, and customer surveys) to gain insights and help companies develop strategies for various business initiatives.
They could focus on identifying potential customers, gaining market share, or marketing their existing customer base more effectively.
Because psychology majors can translate their knowledge of human behavior to understand customer behavior and are well-versed in research, data, and statistics, their background makes them ideal candidates for this type of role.
Salary Range: $65,000
The job description includes support for vulnerable people. It also includes helping individuals find psychological resources in their community, providing counseling services directly to people, and other case management services.
This is all about the best jobs for those with a degree in psychology.
#3. Psychiatric Technician
Salary Range: $40,000
Psychiatric technicians work with patients who experience mental disorders. Their work is usually done in a clinic under the supervision of a licensed psychologist.
The basic tasks can be teaching patients new skills that can be used at home or work.
The reason for this is that you need more than just a bachelor’s degree to qualify as a psychiatrist
#4. Human Resources Specialist
Salary Range: $60,000
Staff and managers earn a very respectable sum. The role includes dealing with employees and building employee efficiency and performance structure.
High-profile HR professionals come from many educational backgrounds, including psychology. Some HR specialists earn more than 6 numbers. This is another high-paying job you can get with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
#5. Copywriter
Salary Range: $38,000 to $75,000
Copywriters are responsible for writing and copying, e.g., for the content of a company’s website, for email marketing campaigns, for user experience (UX), and for sales materials.
Copywriters can be employed directly by brands (referred to as “in-house copywriters”) or marketing and advertising agencies (referred to as “agency copywriters”), or they can be freelance.
The key to success in text writing is understanding what motivates people and then writing a copy that encourages people to act, whether by signing up for a newsletter, clicking on a specific ad or purchasing a product.
Because psychology majors deeply understand human behavior, they can be great copywriters.
SEE ALSO: 15 Best Health and Wellness Psychology Degrees in 2024: Masters, Undergraduate, PhD
#6. Career advisor
Salary Range: $56,000 to $95,000
This job as a career counselor suits psychologists. Most career counselors make around $ 56,000, although it is possible to make more. It’s one of the high-paying jobs for a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Career counselors in schools and government education agencies tend to earn the most. The top earners in this profession can make $ 95,000.
#7. Substance Abuse Advisor
Salary Range: $50,000
While this task is similar for the career counselor, neither counsels on the same matter.
Substance abuse counselors work one-on-one with people addicted to alcohol or drugs, which may include group counseling.
As a consultant, you will have direct contact with people in a crisis or who have come into contact with the criminal justice system.
It’s another high-paying job you can get with a degree in psychology with a sizable annual salary.
#8. Probation officer
Salary Range: $54,000
Probation officers perform many roles. One of the most pronounced is the surveillance of those convicted of crimes.
Often, probation officers make recommendations to the courts and work with other professionals to track clients’ behavior at home, at work, and in other locations.
You will agree that the psychologist likes this job description very much and that it is a highly-paid job for him.
#9. Sales account executive
Salary Range: $36,000 to $92,000
Sales account executives (often referred to as AEs) are responsible for identifying new prospects, promoting their company’s products or services, closing new deals, and managing and selling their accounts.
To succeed in sales, AEs need to understand their customers – their challenges, what they are looking for in a solution, and what would motivate them to purchase and close a deal.
Understanding human behavior and motivation is usually a large part of the curriculum of a psychology undergrad program. This can prepare psychology students for successful careers in sales.
It’s worth noting that bonuses and commissions are ubiquitous in sales professions and significantly contribute to an AE’s earning potential. When you factor in the average bonus, commission, and profit sharing in addition to the average salary, the average total income potential rises to $ 96,515.
#10. UX researcher
Salary Range: $57,000 to $131,000
When a company designs a product, it wants to make sure it appeals to the people it’s designing for – and user experience researchers (often UX researchers for short) are responsible for making that happen.
UX researchers collect data to understand the people who make up their product’s primary user demographics and then use that knowledge to guide the design process and ensure that the final product is easy and fun for the audience.
UX researchers need a balance between qualitative and quantitative research skills (e.g., interviewing target users and analyzing user interaction data for a new website feature) and the ability to match their colleagues—skills that par for the course for psychology majors.
#11. Diversity and Inclusion Manager
Salary Range: $56,000 to $125,000
Diversity and Inclusion Managers are responsible for fostering a work environment and culture that allows employees from different backgrounds to thrive.
Depending on the organization, diversity and inclusion managers may have different responsibilities, including creating company policies, developing D&I training programs, leading D&I recruitment initiatives, and managing complaints related to harassment and other D&I -Problems in the workplace.
Understanding human behavior and psychological concepts – including cognitive bias and psychological security – is critical to the role.
Diversity and inclusion managers also need a strong sense of empathy, compassion, and ethics – all traits highlighted in psychology degrees.
#12. Academic advisor
Salary Range: $35,000 to $58,000
Academic advisors work at colleges and universities and are responsible for accompanying and advising students on their educational trips.
This may include meeting with prospective students to determine if the college or university is right for them, advising new students on their key options, or providing students with academic difficulties with access to the resources they can use to improve their grades and need services.
Psychology majors, especially those who have taken counseling courses, are often great for counseling roles that require excellent communication, empathy, and other interpersonal skills.
#13. Customer Service Representative
Salary Range: $40,000 to $84,000
Customer Service Managers are responsible for managing a company’s customer service operations. This includes dealing directly with customers and managing and training customer service representatives to be more effective in dealing with customers.
Customer service managers must know how to communicate effectively, manage conflicts, defuse tension (as many customers who contact customer service have complaints or problems), and ensure that the customer feels their needs are being met.
They need to understand who their customers are, why they’re making contact, and how they can feel heard and understood – and that’s all right.
Conclusion
There is a common misconception that a bachelor’s degree in psychology is practically useless in and of itself; A bachelor’s degree in psychology is only useful as a prerequisite for a master’s or doctoral degree in psychology.
That’s just not true. A bachelor’s degree in psychology can indeed be a big step toward a degree, but it can be applied to several career paths other than psychology.
An estimated 40% of psychology students study in law or business schools. However, a bachelor’s degree in psychology may well have its worth.
Reference
- www.careerprofiles.info › psychology-bachelors-degre..
- www.prospects.ac.uk › careers-advice › psychology
- www.bestcolleges.com › blog › what-can-you-do-with-a-psychology-degree.
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