6 answers
Hannah
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
1
Question
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What type of career could I do in psychology?
I am interested in psychology, but I do not know what careers are included in that. Can anyone recommend careers or share information about theirs that will help me choose? Thank you.
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6 answers
Jayda Harwell
Senior Talent Acquisition Operations Specialist
7
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Jayda’s Answer
Hi Hannah - psychology has a plethora of different career paths because of the transferrable skills you learn and develop when studying psychology. It's great that you're considering the career options aligned to the field. In psychology, you will spend your time focused on human functioning and treatment for individuals that struggle from mental and/or emotional difficulties.
Common career paths are:
- Teaching/academia: could be at the high school or post-secondary eduction level
- Research: participate in research writing & conduct research studies to contribute to the field of psychology
- Clinical psychology or counseling: work with clients 1:1 and in group settings to help them with a variety of mental or emotional difficulties (variety of focus areas to specialize in, but also could be a general focus)
Some things you could consider as you think about career paths for psychology are:
- Your personal values in alignment to work & life
- What type of tasks do you enjoy doing, what energizes you
- How long do you want to be in school (e.g. do you want to pursue a masters or PhD)
- What draws you to psychology/what sup-topics in psychology really interest you/do you have a passion area
The APA has a good overview of careers in Psychology, that you can check out here: https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/careers.
It's also great to talk to people in the field. Your teachers/professors/advisors might be able to help as well!
Common career paths are:
- Teaching/academia: could be at the high school or post-secondary eduction level
- Research: participate in research writing & conduct research studies to contribute to the field of psychology
- Clinical psychology or counseling: work with clients 1:1 and in group settings to help them with a variety of mental or emotional difficulties (variety of focus areas to specialize in, but also could be a general focus)
Some things you could consider as you think about career paths for psychology are:
- Your personal values in alignment to work & life
- What type of tasks do you enjoy doing, what energizes you
- How long do you want to be in school (e.g. do you want to pursue a masters or PhD)
- What draws you to psychology/what sup-topics in psychology really interest you/do you have a passion area
The APA has a good overview of careers in Psychology, that you can check out here: https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/careers.
It's also great to talk to people in the field. Your teachers/professors/advisors might be able to help as well!
Sharon Davis
Student
9
Answers
Browns Summit, North Carolina
Updated
Sharon’s Answer
Hello Hannah! Psychology is the best bachelor's degree for any type of mental health master's degree. For example, to get your master's in Social Work, mental health counseling, and marriage and family counseling. I will soon have my master's degree in mental health counseling. If you want to work after getting your bachelor's in psychology, you could get a job as a Qualified Mental Health Professional. I'm sure there are more, but this is the one job that I know of. This one usually pays full-time at $40,000 a year.
Kaylyn Johnson
Clinical Case Management/Outpatient Therapy
6
Answers
Cleveland, Ohio
Updated
Kaylyn’s Answer
Hi Hannah!
There are many careers that you can do with a psychology background, including research, clinical psychology/therapy, and counseling. I have experience working in the social work field . If you have an interest in social justice as well as psychology, I believe the social work combines these two fields! Social work is flexible and you can work in many capacities, such as in the role of a therapist, case manager, human resources, hospital social worker, and more. It is also pretty easy to change the capacity you work in throughout your career.
There are many careers that you can do with a psychology background, including research, clinical psychology/therapy, and counseling. I have experience working in the social work field . If you have an interest in social justice as well as psychology, I believe the social work combines these two fields! Social work is flexible and you can work in many capacities, such as in the role of a therapist, case manager, human resources, hospital social worker, and more. It is also pretty easy to change the capacity you work in throughout your career.
Nicole Mak
9
Answers
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
Hi Hannah! Jayda has a good response, but I wanted to add to it and bring up UX Research / UI Design as career options. UX stands for user experience and UI stands for user interface. If you think about any website or mobile app that you use, there is someone who designs the layout and decides where to place images, buttons, links, etc. The design decisions are made based on the work that UX researchers do, who interview users and analyze data on how people use a product to provide a recommendation on how the end-to-end user experience can be improved. UI or product designers then incorporates this research into the look and feel of a product's user interface. Both of these career paths are relevant to psychology because they require you to understand the thought process of the user or customer. If you are not interested in becoming a researcher or providing therapy/counseling services, this could be an interesting path for you to consider.
Here is a good article that gives a brief overview on UX/UI and how psychology is relevant to it:
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/how-to-change-your-career-from-psychology-to-ux-design#:~:text=In%20UX%2C%20you'll%20be,when%20interacting%20with%20a%20product.
Here is a good article that gives a brief overview on UX/UI and how psychology is relevant to it:
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/how-to-change-your-career-from-psychology-to-ux-design#:~:text=In%20UX%2C%20you'll%20be,when%20interacting%20with%20a%20product.
Tanaz Arteaga
Faculty and Administrator
8
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Tanaz’s Answer
Hi Hannah!
I work with undergraduates studying Psychology and we often talk about the "what's next" question you are asking here. Great question!
Since the goal of psychology is to describe, explain, predict, and change human behavior, there are many roles and settings where it can be applied. I often refer to psychology as an 'umbrella degree' that can include many careers under it. So, there are many pathways to success in psychology and my students work in a variety of fields and jobs with their undergraduate degree in Psychology, including the mental health field, community relations and advocacy, case management and social work, medical and health services management, human resources and/or organizational training and development, marketing, education, child development, public relations, retail sales management, and more!
Of course, there are also the more traditional career paths related to studying Psychology- including becoming a therapist. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), the Psychology field continues to grow. The anticipated growth of psychologists is expected to grow by 6% which is slightly bigger than other occupations, and some subfields of psychology are growing much more rapidly with the emphasis on mental health. For example, Marriage & Family Therapists are increasing by 14% and Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder and Mental Health Counselors is growing by 22%. Other directly related careers include Applied Behavior Analysis, Business Psychology, and Forensic Psychology. For many of these careers, you can seek licensing or certification through further education which makes you even more qualified and well paid.
Personally, I am an educational psychologist. I study the psychology of learning and teaching. This includes looking at what motivates students, lifespan growth and development, evaluating technology for classrooms, and considering methods that work best for learners, among other topics. At the core of any role in psychology is studying human behavior with the same goals of describing, explaining, predicting, and changing it- it is our shared foundation.
Congratulations on considering psychology as a field of study- and thinking about what it means for your future!
:-) Tanaz
Check out the US Bureau Labor Statistics page on Psychologist for more ideas, pay, etc.: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm
Check out the APA's Careers in Psychology page: https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/careers
Check out this website (ignore the college ads and scroll down for great info): https://careersinpsychology.org/
Finally, one more to give you lots of options: https://www.verywellmind.com/a-list-of-psychology-careers-2794917
Also, I often have students narrow down their choices and then go to YouTube to watch videos of a "day in the life of a ______" to get an idea of what the jobs would include
I work with undergraduates studying Psychology and we often talk about the "what's next" question you are asking here. Great question!
Since the goal of psychology is to describe, explain, predict, and change human behavior, there are many roles and settings where it can be applied. I often refer to psychology as an 'umbrella degree' that can include many careers under it. So, there are many pathways to success in psychology and my students work in a variety of fields and jobs with their undergraduate degree in Psychology, including the mental health field, community relations and advocacy, case management and social work, medical and health services management, human resources and/or organizational training and development, marketing, education, child development, public relations, retail sales management, and more!
Of course, there are also the more traditional career paths related to studying Psychology- including becoming a therapist. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), the Psychology field continues to grow. The anticipated growth of psychologists is expected to grow by 6% which is slightly bigger than other occupations, and some subfields of psychology are growing much more rapidly with the emphasis on mental health. For example, Marriage & Family Therapists are increasing by 14% and Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder and Mental Health Counselors is growing by 22%. Other directly related careers include Applied Behavior Analysis, Business Psychology, and Forensic Psychology. For many of these careers, you can seek licensing or certification through further education which makes you even more qualified and well paid.
Personally, I am an educational psychologist. I study the psychology of learning and teaching. This includes looking at what motivates students, lifespan growth and development, evaluating technology for classrooms, and considering methods that work best for learners, among other topics. At the core of any role in psychology is studying human behavior with the same goals of describing, explaining, predicting, and changing it- it is our shared foundation.
Congratulations on considering psychology as a field of study- and thinking about what it means for your future!
:-) Tanaz
Tanaz recommends the following next steps:
Kaci Clark
School Psychologist
6
Answers
Springfield, Illinois
Updated
Kaci’s Answer
One career to consider in the psychology field is school psychology. How it looks varies from place to place, but my job includes testing (cognitive, academic, social-emotional) for special education eligibility, counseling students, and consulting with school staff on how to help students in the classroom/at school. You work with students but also collaborate with other adults (parents, teachers, social workers, principals, and school counselors). They pay varies by where you work, but it is a growing field in psychology and ranked as the #3 job is social services.