What Can I Do With a Psychology Degree?

Data from a 2013 survey revealed that of college graduates with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, 26.7 percent reported working in jobs closely related to psychology, 35.1 percent said their positions were somewhat related to psychology, and 38.2 percent reported that their work was unrelated to psychology. Considering that psychology is a field with many specialized sectors, including, but not limited to, behavioral psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, and health psychology, many jobs and career options exist for psychology degree-holders.

Career paths in psychology

People with degrees in psychology commonly become psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, professors, teachers, or researchers. When deciding what career to pursue, one should keep in mind that while most professions require a bachelor’s level education, some, especially more specialized occupations, require further academic study and intensive training. For instance, becoming a psychiatrist that specializes in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses and psychological disorders requires studying medicine.

Other things to be considered are the current job outlook and future job outlook for certain professions. Psychology students and graduates should be aware of what branches in psychology are experiencing growth and what jobs are increasing in demand. The employment of rehabilitation counselors, for instance, is expected to experience a 10 percent increase from 2018 to 2028. With this in mind, psychology students and others interested in having a psychology career might want to consider working in the rehabilitation and health psychology field. Students can work toward earning an online rehabilitation psychology degree, such as that offered by Faulkner University, as a way to get their foot in the door in this field.

Optimize the job search

While obtaining and after obtaining a degree in psychology and completing any further training as necessary, one should try to network within the field, because meaningful connections can be beneficial to professional success and career improvement. Individuals looking for jobs and career development can benefit from using the expert services of, and resources provided by a retained search firm to find a job. A search firm, such as Gated Talent, can connect job seekers to headhunters and leading executive recruiters.

Job seekers can share their career plans, aspirations, and goals, as well as their academic and early career achievements with leading executive and board recruiters in the United States and other parts of the world. By using a headhunter or executive search firm to find a job, job seekers can learn how the executive search process works. Having insight into the executive search and recruitment processes can enable job seekers to improve their visibility and credentials as a candidate for jobs, and tailor their job searches to what recruiters want.

Psychology degree-holders and people interested in working in psychology should consider all the career paths the broad field of psychology has to offer when planning their professional future. Jobs in psychology or somewhat related to psychology for which a candidate may be a good fit can be found more efficiently by using a headhunter or executive search firm that can connect a job seeker to recruiters.

A freelance writer with a BA in English from Sarah Lawrence College.